Department for Transport

Cycleways

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to encourage the installation of more cycle paths across the UK.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department is investing an unprecedented £2 billion in active travel schemes over the course of this Parliament. This is the biggest ever boost for cycling and walking. The funding will be spent on a wide range of measures in England, as set out in the Prime Minister’s July 2020 Gear Change plan. The provision of high-quality infrastructure is vital to getting people cycling and walking. As part of the plan the Department is also investing in the National Cycle Network, which currently consists of 12,763 miles of cycling and walking routes across the UK.The final details of the £2 billion funding package are still to be determined and will be confirmed in due course. The funding applies to England only, but any funding on top of the Department for Transport’s current budgets will have Barnett Consequentials applied in the usual way.

Transport and Planning Permission

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made recent representations to Ministerial colleagues in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to identify opportunities for (a) combined transport and planning policies and (b) 20-minute walkable neighbourhoods to increase walking, cycling and reduce car usage.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to reverse the growth of road traffic.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department is working closely with the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government to ensure the transport and spatial planning systems are better aligned and actively promote sustainable transport options. The two Departments are also considering how we ensure we deliver on our commitment in Gear Change and ensure that walking, cycling and public transport are the first choice for journeys in new developments. As part of this, Active Travel England, once established, will be a statutory consultee in the planning system. Officials from my Department are in contact with MHCLG officials to determine the scope of this involvement.Additionally, as set out in the Prime Minister’s July 2020 Gear Change plan, the Department is investing an unprecedented £2 billion in active travel schemes in England over the course of this Parliament. This is the biggest ever boost for cycling and walking and the funding will be spent on a wide range of measures.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the opportunities to create new, highly skilled jobs through the decarbonisation of the UK steel industry.

Nadhim Zahawi: Levelling up and ensuring high-quality employment across every region of the UK is a key element in the Government’s Plan for Growth. It is estimated that the UK low-carbon economy could grow more than four times faster than the rest of the economy between 2015 and 2030 and support up to 2 million jobs. The Government will ensure that the benefits of our growing low-carbon economy are shared fairly in every region. The Steel Council offers the forum for government, industry and trade unions to work in partnership on the shared objective of creating an achievable, long-term plan to support the sector’s transition to a competitive, sustainable and low carbon future. The UK steel sector will be given the opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation programmes under the £1bn NZIP portfolio, which is intended to promote switching away from more carbon-intensive fuel sources. The Government has also announced a £250 million Clean Steel Fund to support the UK steel sector to transition to lower carbon iron and steel production, through investment in new technologies and processes.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the opportunities for hydrogen-based steelmaking projects to help level up the UK.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, published on 17 March, commits to work with the newly constituted Steel Council to consider the implications of the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’. Hydrogen-based steelmaking, CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage),and electrification are some of the technological approaches being examined as part of this process. The Steel Council offers the forum for government, industry and trade unions to work in partnership on the shared objective of creating an achievable, long-term plan to support the sector’s transition to a competitive, sustainable and low carbon future. In order to support these efforts, the Government has announced a £250 million Clean Steel Fund to support the UK steel sector to transition to lower carbon iron and steel production, through investment in new technologies and processes. The decarbonisation of the steel sector and industry more widely will also be supported through the £1 billion CCUS Infrastructure Fund (CIF) and £240m Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund.

Iron and Steel: Imports

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how much and what proportion of all steel used in the UK in each of the next ten years will be imported.

Nadhim Zahawi: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC release this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com(opens in a new tab)). BEIS annually publishes the Steel Pipeline, signalling upcoming steel requirements for national infrastructure projects. The most recent update shows how the Government plans to procure 7.6 million tonnes of steel over the next decade for infrastructure projects such as the expansion of offshore wind infrastructure, the construction of Hinkley Point C and the maintenance and upgrading of the UK’s motorway network.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has met with representatives from industry and campaigners to discuss hydrogen-based steel production.

Nadhim Zahawi: The BEIS Ministerial team carries out regular engagement with steel and energy stakeholders. For example, The Steel Council offers the forum for government, industry and trade unions to work in partnership on the shared objective of creating an achievable, long-term plan to support the sector’s transition to a competitive, sustainable and low carbon future. At the latest meeting of the Steel Council, on 19 May, UK Steel presented its draft roadmap for how to achieve net zero steel production and the Secretary of State underscored the UK government’s commitment to this work. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations, on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of (a) the number of global trials trialling hydrogen-based steelmaking and (b) the potential merits of launching a similar trial in the UK.

Nadhim Zahawi: The UK is monitoring international progress on low carbon steel making trials, using hydrogen and other technologies, and is actively engaged in international initiatives to support industrial decarbonisation innovation, including the Mission Innovation platform and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition.

Hydrogen

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Hydrogen Strategy will be published; and if it will include measures to use hydrogen to decarbonise the UK steel sector.

Nadhim Zahawi: The UK’s first ever Hydrogen Strategy will set out what is required to build a hydrogen economy fit for 2030, Carbon Budget 6 and beyond, whilst maximising economic benefits. It will also discuss the role of low carbon hydrogen as a leading option for decarbonising industrial processes. Alongside this, we will also consult on priority policies including a hydrogen business model, a low carbon hydrogen standard, and the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. The UK is monitoring international progress on low carbon steel making trials, using hydrogen and other technologies, and is actively engaged in international initiatives to support industrial decarbonisation innovation, including the Mission Innovation platform and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition. Decarbonising UK industry is a core part of the Government’s ambitious plan for the green industrial revolution. The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, published on 17 March, commits government to work with the Steel Council to consider the implications of the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee to ‘set targets for ore-based steelmaking to reach near-zero emissions by 2035’. The Steel Council offers the forum for government, industry and trade unions to work in partnership on the shared objective of creating an achievable, long-term plan to support the sector’s transition to a competitive, sustainable and low carbon future. Hydrogen-based steelmaking is one of the technological approaches being examined as part of this process. The UK steel sector will be given the opportunity to bid into industrial fuel switching innovation programmes under the £1bn NZIP portfolio, which is intended to promote switching away from more carbon-intensive fuel sources. The Government has also announced a £250 million Clean Steel Fund to support the UK steel sector to transition to lower carbon iron and steel production, through investment in new technologies and processes.

Ammonia: Trade Competitiveness

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the combined potential effect of (a) UK Emission Trading Scheme costs and (b) industrial energy oncosts on the competitiveness of UK ammonia production.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To mitigate adverse affects on competitiveness and the risk of carbon leakage from UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) costs, ammonia producers receive a significant number of allowances for free. As part of the Free Allocation Review, we will be looking at possible future changes to the allocation of free allowances within the UK ETS. We published a call for evidence on 17 March 2021 which closed on 23 April 2021, and we will publish a response in due course. The Government recognises that the UK’s industrial electricity costs are currently higher than those in many other countries. This partly reflects how the costs of the electricity system are distributed across household and industrial customers. Nevertheless, we are committed to minimising energy costs for businesses to ensure our economy remains strong and competitive and we have therefore put various schemes in place to reduce the policy cost in electricity prices for those energy intensive industries most at risk of facing a significant competitive disadvantage, including production of ammonia.  Furthermore, the Government has schemes worth nearly £2 billion in operation, or in development, supporting energy intensive industries to decarbonise. These schemes include the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund to help companies reduce their energy costs and transition to low carbon technologies, the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund to support industry with the deployment of low-carbon technologies in industrial clusters, and to improve the resource and energy efficiency of foundation industries.

Boilers: Hydrogen

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take in response to the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee's 2021 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 24 June 2021, that his Department should set requirements for new gas boilers to be hydrogen-ready by 2025 while ensuring that new boilers outperform current and expected future air quality standards.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government will respond formally to this and the Climate Change Committee’s other recommendations by October 15. We are supporting the development of prototype ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers through the Hy4Heat programme. In advance of strategic decisions on the role of hydrogen for heating, we will assess the case for encouraging, or requiring, new gas boilers to be readily convertible to hydrogen in preparation for any future conversion of the gas network. As set out in the 2020 Energy White Paper, we will consult on the role of ‘hydrogen ready’ appliances later this year. The Government is exploring the benefits of improving efficiency and raising product standards in heating appliances, including gas boilers. This presents an opportunity to improve energy efficiency in millions of homes, reducing carbon emissions now, while providing householders greater comfort and savings on energy bills. More detail on how we will look to improve the efficiency of energy-using products such as gas boilers will be set out in the Energy-Related Products Policy Framework as announced in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan.

Heating: Hydrogen

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take in response to the recommendation of the Climate Change Committee's 2021 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 24 June 2021, that OFGEM should undertake a programme of research with his Department to identify priority candidate areas for hydrogen for the decarbonisation of heat.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Government will respond formally to this and the Climate Change Committee’s other recommendations by October 15. Hydrogen is a potential key option for decarbonising heating, alongside heat pumps and heat networks. The Department is working with OFGEM, industry and others to deliver a range of research, development, testing and trials projects designed to determine the feasibility, costs and benefits of using low carbon hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas for heating, including transitioning all or parts of the gas network.

Hydrogen

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the Hydrogen Strategy; and (b) and whether that strategy will be backed by funding to launch and expand new hydrogen projects in the UK.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan and Energy White Paper confirmed our commitment to publish the UK’s first ever Hydrogen Strategy. The Strategy will set out how we intend to meet our aim, working with industry, to deliver 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for use across the economy. Alongside this, we will consult on the design and delivery of the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) for co-investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and on our preferred hydrogen business model to overcome the cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and higher carbon counterfactuals fuels. As set out in the 10 Point Plan these are some of the key measures to bring through low carbon hydrogen projects and support the 2030 ambition.

Industry: Hydrogen

Christian Wakeford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the future abilities of hydrogen projects such as HyNet in the North West to help decarbonise (a) the UK’s steel sector and (b) other heavy industries.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, published on 17 March 2021, sets out how industry can decarbonise in line with net zero, while remaining competitive and without pushing emissions abroad. This strategy marks the beginning of a process which will see wide deployment of key abatement technologies across industry, and refinement of Government’s policy approach to incentivise and support decarbonisation. Hydrogen has significant potential for decarbonising industry across many different processes and sectors. We are supporting the scale up of low carbon hydrogen production, for use across the economy, through schemes such as the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. There will be further discussion of the role of hydrogen in decarbonising industry in the forthcoming Hydrogen Strategy. UK steel plays a critical role in the economy as a foundation industry and the Government remains committed to the steel industry and it having a decarbonised future, supporting local economic growth and our levelling-up agenda. Hydrogen-based steelmaking is one of the possible decarbonisation pathways for the steel sector that is being considered.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Security

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what private companies are contracted to provide security services at his Department’s buildings that contain Ministerial private offices; and whether there are closed circuit television cameras in any Ministerial private office within his Departmental estate.

Amanda Solloway: As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on security procedures in Government buildings.

Furniture: Fire Regulations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Independent Experts Committee on the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, established in September 2020, whether that committee has published (a) details of its 13 members and organisations and (b) meeting notes; what process was used for selecting that Committee's membership; and what feedback was received from other Government departments on that selection process.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the  the Independent Experts Committee on Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and its meeting of September 2020, for what reasons that Committee's membership did not comprise existing stakeholders who had worked on the review for more than 10 years; and if he will publish details of the research that the Independent Experts Committee decided necessary for a review of (a) the overall regulations and (b) children's products.

Paul Scully: In July 2019, the Government announced it would develop a new approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.The Government does not have an ‘Independent Experts Committee’ advising on the review of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Government seeks independent expert input and advice from a range of individuals and organisations.As part of the formulation of Government policy, it is essential that officials are able to seek advice from external parties with relevant knowledge and experience. Third parties must feel that they can provide Government with candid views without fear that that information will be made public, particularly when those views relate to sensitive and ongoing issues. As such, the Government does not intend to publish the individual pieces of advice received from independent experts on this topic. All completed research relating to product safety is published on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/product-safety-research). This is updated periodically with details of further commissioned research.

Furniture: Fire Regulations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the presentation by the Office for Product Safety and Standards on The New Approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations at the Chemical Stakeholder Forum on 10 February 2021, whether the new regulations to be made at the end of 2022 are to include new British Standards for product fire safety.

Paul Scully: In July 2019, the Government announced it would develop a new approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and develop Regulations based on safety outcomes. In support of these Regulations, standards are being developed independently by the British Standards Institution.

Furniture: Fire Regulations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to recommendation 8 of the Environmental Audit Committee's Twentieth Report of Session 2017-19 on Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life published on 16 July 2019, for what reason children's products have not yet been removed from the scope of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; and what his timetable is for reviewing the scope of those regulations.

Paul Scully: The Government has committed to review the status of baby products in the scope of the new regulations. To help inform this, the Government has recently commissioned research to understand the fire risk that certain products, including baby products, pose. Formal consultation on the new approach is currently planned for early 2022.

Furniture: Fire Resistant Materials

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken to reduce flame retardants in UK furniture; and what reductions have been achieved since 2014.

Paul Scully: To support the development of its new approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, the Government has undertaken two consultations on proposals to update the prescribed tests as set out in the schedules of the 1988 Regulations. Revision of the Regulations is complex, and a broad spectrum of views were expressed through these consultations.In July 2019, the Government announced it would develop a new approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and develop Regulations based on safety outcomes. In support of these Regulations, standards are being developed independently by the British Standards Institution.The 1988 Regulations already allow for the use of materials and products that deliver consumer safety from fires, without using chemical flame retardants and the Government continues to welcome innovative approaches that deliver safe outcomes for consumers.

Furniture: Fire Regulations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the presentation by the Office for Product Safety and Standards on The New Approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations at the Chemical Stakeholder Forum on 10 February 2021, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the evidence that those regulations provide fire safety with the Department's earlier conclusions on those regulations in 2014.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of revoking that legislation.

Paul Scully: The Government recognises that the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 need to be updated to respond to developments in furniture design, innovation, manufacturing processes and environmental and health concerns whilst maintaining product safety protections.In July 2019, the Government announced it would develop a new approach to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 based on outcomes with standards developed independently by the British Standards Institution.The new approach was recommended following consultation with fire chiefs, the public, manufacturers, suppliers and advice from Chief Scientific Advisors from across Government.Formal consultation on the new approach is currently planned for Spring 2022.

Furniture: Decabromodiphenyl Ether

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to help reduce the number of sofas and mattresses in UK homes that contain the flame retardant chemical DecaBDE, which was banned under UK REACH in March 2019.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has taken steps to make the general public aware that furniture may contain the flame retardant DecaBDE which was banned under UK REACH in March 2019.

Paul Scully: With effect from 2 March 2019, the use of Deca-BDE was restricted through REACH – this prevents the manufacture and supply on the market of Deca-BDE, including in articles such as furniture. The restriction does not apply to articles placed on the market before 2 March 2019. A list of restricted substances is available on the Health and Safety Executive website: https://www.hse.gov.uk/reach/restrictions.htm.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the transition to renewable heating systems will have on (a) UK grid capacity and (b) the North West’s grid capacity.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we will need to decarbonise virtually all heat in buildings. Government analysis indicates that heat pumps are likely to play an important role in this transition, which is why my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced our ambition to reach 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028. In combination with an increase in electric vehicle deployment, this is likely to increase demand for electricity. Ensuring the adequacy of the electricity network is the responsibility of electricity network companies, and they are incentivised to do so through the regulatory framework set out by Ofgem, the independent regulator. Electricity distribution network operators (DNOs) submitted their draft business plans for the next price control (RIIO ED2), which will run from 2023-28, on 1 July. Final draft business plans submissions are expected to be made by DNOs in December of this year. As part of this, DNOs, including Electricity North West who are the licensed operator for the distribution network in the North West, will include forecasts for the uptake of renewable heating systems and how they plan to ready the network for these technologies. A new Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, developed jointly by BEIS and Ofgem, will be published shortly. The plan will set out how deploying low carbon technologies, including heat pumps, in a smart and flexible way can reduce the requirement for large increases in generation capacity and support the balancing of the electricity system. This approach benefits all electricity system users by reducing overall system costs and carbon emissions, while also supporting system stability.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set out his plans (a) to accelerate the uptake in heat and ground pumps and (b) for the roll out other renewable heating sources.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As announced in the Ten-Point Plan, we aim to install 600,000 hydronic heat pumps per year by 2028. We are putting together a comprehensive policy package to support this ambition, including targeted regulatory, market-based and public investment measures. These measures include the Future Homes Standard that will ensure new homes are built with high levels of energy efficiency and low carbon heating from 2025, the Clean Heat Grant scheme, launching in 2022, and a new market-based policy putting industry at the heart of growing the heat pump market. Heat pumps have already been proven to work at scale in buildings, delivering effective heating with lower emissions than fossil fuel heating. However, there are a range of potential low carbon heating solutions, including hydrogen, heat networks and biomethane that could help deliver our net zero target. We will set out further details on how we accelerate uptake of heat pumps and our approach to other low carbon heating technologies in our forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy

Business: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of businesses that have started repayments on the (a) Bounce Back Loan Scheme, (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (c) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Business: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses have defaulted payments on the (a) Bounce Back Loan Scheme, (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (c) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Business: Coronavirus

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been written off in total from businesses using the (a) Bounce Back Loan Scheme, (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (c) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of businesses that have borrowed from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme have utilised the Pay as You Grow scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Bounce Back Loan Scheme borrowers have taken a repayment holiday for up to six months as part of the Pay as You Grow scheme.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Bounce Back Loan Scheme borrowers have requested an extension of their loan term from six to 10 years; and how many and what proportion of those requests have been granted.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Bounce Back Loan Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Bounce Back Loan Scheme borrowers have reduced their monthly repayments for six months by paying interest only.

Paul Scully: The Government and the British Business Bank are working with lenders on this issue and will publish data in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Amanda Solloway: The table below shows the cost of energy usage at the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London.  201920202021aGas£89,678b£104,480£84,688Electricity£808,418£623,631£220,292 The increase in the cost of gas in 2020 reflects a requirement to increase the flow of fresh air into the building as part of our COVID measures. The increase in fresh air circulation lowered temperatures in the building, which had to be balanced by increased heating. a 2021 includes energy costs from January to May inclusiveb 2019 gas cost includes an estimate for February

Aviation and Shipping: Carbon Budgets

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2021 to Question 187192 on Aviation and Shipping: Carbon Budgets, whether his Department has plans to bring forward proposals to include aviation and shipping in the UK's sixth carbon budget before COP26.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK’s sixth carbon budget puts into law a world-leading target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels – another decisive step towards net zero by 2050 as we build back greener.CB6 includes emissions from International Aviation and Shipping (IAS) for the first time. We will aim to legislate to include IAS as soon as practicably possible and within one year.

Landlords: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of covid-19 business support grants that has been allocated by the Government to non-resident landlords.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to continuing to provide financial support via Local Authorities for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. We do not hold any of the further data requested. Data on Government allocations to, and payments by, Local Authorities, for Government Business Support Grants, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Amanda Solloway: BEIS is committed to reducing our waste and increasing recycling, and has a zero waste to landfill policy. Between 2009/10 and 2019/20 we reduced waste by 30% and increased recycling by 44% at the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London. Our departmental target is to reduce our overall waste by a further 25% and increase recycling to 70% of total waste by 2024/25.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Economic Growth

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships in the Plan for Growth.

Paul Scully: We are determined to ensure that businesses continue to have clear representation and support as we drive the recovery and build back better. We are working with LEPs and others to review their future role as we set out at the Budget and will be saying more on our plans as soon as possible.

Overseas Companies: Xinjiang

Ms Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what advice his Department has given British companies operating supply chains in Xinjiang in response to President Biden changing import controls by placing Withhold Release Orders against Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd; and whether his Department is working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to add new companies to the sanctions list in light of the most recent WRO.

Paul Scully: All British businesses should take heed of the updated Overseas Business Risk (OBR) guidance on Xinjiang to understand the human rights risks associated with sourcing from that region and to take appropriate remedial action based on their circumstances. The government is engaging businesses to help them understand what this guidance means for them. The Department for International Trade continues to provide practical support to British businesses operating in China, and is happy to answer questions from businesses about this guidance. On 22 March, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, announced that the UK has imposed, under our Global Human Rights sanctions regime, asset freezes and travel bans against four Chinese government officials, as well as the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the organisation responsible for enforcing the repressive security policies across many areas of Xinjiang. These measures were taken alongside the US, Canada and the EU, sending a clear message to the Chinese Government that the international community will not turn a blind eye to such serious and systematic violations of basic human rights. We keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.

Wind Power

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of setting a target for onshore wind ahead of COP26.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Renewable technologies will make a critical contribution to meeting our 2050 net zero commitment, alongside firm low carbon power such as nuclear and gas or biomass generation with carbon capture, usage and storage, and a significant increase in flexibility.As outlined in the recent Energy White Paper, there is no single optimal mix of technologies to decarbonise electricity generation. Targets can be useful in giving certainty to sectors with long investment horizons, however we do not believe that government should prescribe the proportion of generation that will come from all specific technologies; rather the role of government will be to enable the market to deliver the levels of deployment required whilst minimising emissions at a low overall system cost.Whilst the Government has not set specific 2030 targets for onshore wind, we recognise that achieving our 2050 net zero target will require increased deployment across a range of renewable technologies, including sustained growth of onshore wind. This is why we announced on 2 March 2020 that onshore wind and other established renewable technologies such as solar PV will be able to compete in the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round. The round will open in December 2021 and aim to deliver up to double the renewable capacity of last year’s successful round.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Mr Robin Walker: My Department is based in two leased sites, 1 Horse Guards Road, London and Stormont House, Belfast. In London, energy charges are included within the leasing arrangement from the landlord, Her Majesty's Treasury and my Department does not hold any figures for energy usage. In Belfast, the cost of energy usage is shown below.YearElectricityGas2019£51,637.66£10,503.242020£60,006.70£12,446.452021 (to date)£26,186.12£9,677.60

Department of Health and Social Care

Royal Cornwall Hospital: Coronavirus

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the 15 people in Royal Cornwall Hospital with covid-19 on 30 June 2021 (a) were unvaccinated, (b) had received one dose of the vaccine and (c) had received two vaccines.

Jo Churchill: Data on the number of hospitalised COVID-19 cases by vaccination status is not available in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Contact Tracing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities get timely access to the data they need to deal with localised outbreaks of covid-19; what operating model for NHS Test and Trace is planned for after July 2021; and when arrangements for NHS Test and Trace for that period will be communicated to local authorities.

Jo Churchill: NHS Test and Trace provides a range of data and reports to local authorities and Directors of Public Health to support local outbreak management. Public Health England also provides local authorities with a daily list of COVID-19 cases, including variants, in their areas. This is supplemented by a detailed weekly epidemiological summary of cases at national and regional level. Data on specific cases is also made available via an interactive mapping system which can be accessed by local authorities.As NHS Test and Trace transfers into UK Health Security Agency, we are planning against a range of scenarios for the trajectory of the pandemic and assessing the appropriate test, trace and self-isolation responses. We anticipate testing, tracing and self-isolation requirements to reduce as prevalence reduces, with contingency planning to ensure we are able to respond to any future rises in prevalence or new variants of concern. We will communicate any planned changes with all our stakeholders.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Government data that show in the seven days to 23 June 2021 there were 1604 people admitted to hospital with covid-19, how many and what proportion of those people had received (a) zero, (b) one and (c) two doses of a covid-19 vaccination.

Jo Churchill: The data requested is not available in the format requested.Public Health England’s technical briefing shows the latest data regarding hospitalisations by variant, in addition to data on those hospitalised with the Delta variant who are vaccinated with one or and both doses and those unvaccinated. This information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigation-of-novel-sars-cov-2-variant-variant-of-concern-20201201

Coronavirus

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new variants of covid-19 in the UK are identified as quickly as possible.

Jo Churchill: New technology to rapidly detect new COVID-19 mutations is being deployed in NHS Test and Trace laboratories. Genotype assay testing is accelerating identification where a positive COVID-19 sample contains a mutation indicative of a known variant of concern and will be used in addition to standard testing decreasing the interval from approximately two weeks to two days.Genotype assays complement existing surveillance work that uses genomic sequencing to look for variants in positive samples. Genomic sequencing surveillance will continue to detect and monitor how COVID-19 changes over time into new variants, by identifying new mutations in the viral genome. Where new variants or mutations are found, the technology can be adapted to track the variants of most concern.

NHS Test and Trace: Consultants

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to reduce the number of consultants involved in NHS Test and Trace; how much his Department has spent on consultants for NHS Test and Trace (a) in total and (b) in each month of its operation; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: NHS Test and Trace is scaling down its engagement with consultancy services and the number of people employed directly by the civil service on the programme is increasing. As we create the new UK Health Security Agency, it is critical that we can access specific skills and abilities in order to deliver operationally and continue building for the future which may involve consultancy support.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will work with the I Am Billy Campaign to (a) gather evidence and (b) provide additional financial support to families who are in need of medical cannabis; and if he will encourage the (a) National Institute for Health Research and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to meet with that campaign.

Jo Churchill: We are scheduled to meet with the I am Billy Foundation to discuss the goals of the foundation and its proposals on research.There remains a need for high quality evidence on the safety, quality and efficacy of unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Department has committed to considering what further action could be taken regarding access to unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use, where clinically appropriate.

Cancer: Northern Ireland

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Cancer Strategy for Northern Ireland; and whether he has plans to publish a similar strategy for England.

Jo Churchill: The Department of Health Northern Ireland is currently finalising a new cancer strategy. The Department of Health and Social Care engages in sharing best practice between the devolved administrations and will review the new strategy when it is published. The Department of Health and Social Care’s cancer strategy is incorporated as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Cancer

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to reduce the number of people with sarcoma who are diagnosed at stages three and four.

Jo Churchill: People diagnosed with sarcoma and those with a family history or risk factors are able to access genomics tests as commissioned through the NHS England genomics test directory to aid early diagnosis and treatment options.There are fifteen specialist soft tissue sarcoma cancer centres and five specialist bone sarcoma centres in England. All accept referrals for patients with suspected diagnoses from genomics results or primary or acute care, thereby improving early diagnosis and treatments. Specialists sarcoma centres provide a full range of sarcoma care, ranging from diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and any long-term follow-up. This can also include specialist palliative care and survivorship, when provided by a specialist cancer centre.

Gender Recognition: Health Services

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure that all trans people have access to necessary healthcare and (b) reduce waiting times for gender affirming services and gender identity clinics.

Jo Churchill: Four new gender identity clinics have been established in London, Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and the East of England. These were opened in June 2020, December 2020, January 2021 and June 2021 respectively. A further clinic is expected to open in the South East of England in summer 2022. The four established clinics are expected to reduce the waiting list by a quarter by 2024.

Gay Conversion Therapy

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ban sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices that take place in healthcare settings as part of legislative proposals on banning conversion therapy.

Jo Churchill: The Government is committed to ending conversion therapy and has announced an upcoming ban. The Department for Health and Social Care is working with the Government Equalities Office as their consultation is developed.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken with respect to people with mental health issues as part of the roll out of the covid-19 vaccination programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government accepted the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and included those with severe mental illnesses within cohort six of the vaccine programme. Working in partnership with secondary care mental health services and voluntary, community and social enterprise partners, general practitioners should ensure appropriate outreach mechanisms are in place to prioritise people with severe mental illnesses. NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England have been working with Rethink Mental Illness to understand the barriers to vaccination and concerns from people living with severe mental illnesses to develop and promote targeted communications materials. Three delivery models are currently in operation to allow people to visit a site most appropriate to their needs; hospital hubs, local vaccination services (including pop up sites) and vaccination centres. This allows the programme to to deliver vaccines in a tailored way to suit individual circumstances and needs.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has received on (a) the efficacy of the Novavax vaccine following its trial and (b) whether volunteers who received two vaccinations as part of the Novavax trial are eligible to receive other types of approved covid-19 vaccines.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has regular meetings with Novavax regarding their submission for the vaccine but this is not yet complete. A review of the quality, safety and efficacy data will be required before the MHRA and Commission on Human Medicines can consider approval of the vaccine.As trial participants become eligible for the vaccination programme, they should discuss with the trial investigator to decide whether they should receive an approved COVID-19 vaccine. This should be informed by whether they had received a placebo or control vaccine, an active vaccine with known efficacy against COVID-19, an experimental trial vaccine product with no current efficacy data and whether they have received a full proposed or incomplete regimen. There is currently a lack of evidence to inform whether a subsequent dose of a different COVID-19 vaccine after a full regimen of experimental vaccine provides any benefit. Subjects should also be made aware that the risks of receiving the deployed vaccine after the trial vaccine are unknown.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether AstraZeneca plans to apply to European Medicines Agency for approval of the covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute in India in order for people who received that vaccine to have their covid-19 vaccinations recognised by EU countries.

Nadhim Zahawi: Licencing applications to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are a matter for individual pharmaceutical companies.The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures both Vaxzevria and Covishield, branded vaccines which are the same as the COVID-19 University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. All SII-made doses approved by the United Kingdom regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and administered in the UK were branded as the ’COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’ which is now known commercially as ‘Vaxzevria’. The MHRA has not approved doses branded as ‘Covishield’ and none have been administered in the UK.All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The EMA has authorised the Vaxzevria vaccine and it is therefore recognised by the European Union.

Travel: Coronavirus

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts to help ensure that UK citizens who received an Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine will be able to participate in travel arrangements with the EU.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government continues to engage with the European Union on certification to ensure that travel between the United Kingdom and the EU is supported by a common approach.The Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures both Vaxzevria and Covishield, branded vaccines which are the same as the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. All SII-made doses approved by the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and administered in the UK were branded as the ’COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’ which is now known commercially as ‘Vaxzevria’. The MHRA has not approved doses branded as ‘Covishield’ and none have been administered in the UK. All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised the Vaxzevria vaccine and it is therefore recognised by the EU.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Paul Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether covid-19 vaccines that are (a) recognised by the WHO and (b) not available in the UK will be recognised as part of a proposed vaccine passport scheme to aid working British citizens who have been vaccinated overseas.

Nadhim Zahawi: Work is ongoing to determine which non-United Kingdom vaccines, including but not limited to those recognised by the World Health Organization, could be recognised in this country.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the medical needs of recipients of solid organ donations within the covid 19 booster programme; what priority will be given to such recipients in that booster programme; and when the Cov-Boost study, led by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust will be published; and what the planned timescale is for the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations to publish its decision on the plans for that booster programme.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June 2021, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022/jcvi-interim-advice-potential-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-winter-2021-to-2022As stated in the interim advice, adults who are severely immunosuppressed, such as those who have had solid organ transplants, may not respond as well to COVID-19 vaccines. The advice states that those adults who are severely immunosuppressed should be offered COVID-19 booster revaccination at the start of the booster programme. It should be noted that this advice may be subject to change before being finalised.Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI. The JCVI will review the emerging scientific evidence to inform the Government in our final decision-making process, which includes further data on the durability of protection from vaccines, data supplied by manufacturers and clinical trial data from the Cov-Boost trial on immune responses following a third vaccination. It is anticipated that primary data from the initial stages of this trial will be reported to the JCVI by the end of summer 2021.

Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) membership and (b) minutes of the meetings of the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are unable to provide the membership and minutes of the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum as it relates to the formulation of Government policy.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to allocate additional funding to mental health services in the 2022-23 financial year.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are committed to investing an additional £2.3 billion a year in mental health services in England by 2023/24 under the NHS Long Term Plan. Beyond that, funding for 2022-23 financial year for England is subject to the Department’s Spending Review 2021 and business planning outcomes. Funding in the rest of the United Kingdom is a matter for the devolved administrations.

Maternity Services

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the transition to a midwifery-led continuity of care model is accessible to women who are pregnant following the death of a previous baby.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023.Upcoming NHS England and NHS Improvement guidance on continuity of carer will include advice on the implementation of maternal medicine-focused teams, which could be used to accommodate women deemed higher risk due to previous loss, whilst still offering continuity of the midwife caring for them.

Maternity Services

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the transition to a midwifery-led Continuity of Carer model is properly resourced and supported and (b) women who are pregnant again after the death of a baby are able to access it as a priority.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023. NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided local maternity systems with £90.05 million in service development funding from 2018 to 2021 to fulfil transformational objectives, including implementing continuity of carer models. An additional £96 million was announced earlier this year in response to the emerging findings from the Ockenden Report, the majority of which will be invested in additional midwives and obstetric capacity.Upcoming NHS England and NHS Improvement guidance will include advice on the implementation of maternal medicine-focused continuity of carer teams, which could be used to accommodate women deemed higher risk due to previous loss, whilst still offering continuity of the midwife caring for them.

Maternity Services

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the transition to a midwifery-led continuity of carer model of care is adequately (a) resourced and (b) supported.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023. NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided local maternity systems with £90.05 million in service development funding from 2018 to 2021 to fulfil transformational objectives, including implementing continuity of carer models. An additional £96 million was announced earlier this year in response to the emerging findings from the Ockenden Report, the majority of which will be invested in additional midwives and obstetric capacity.Upcoming NHS England and NHS Improvement guidance will include advice on the implementation of maternal medicine-focused continuity of carer teams, which could be used to accommodate women deemed higher risk due to previous loss, whilst still offering continuity of the midwife caring for them.

Mental Health: First Aid

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Transforming Mental Health Provision Green Paper, what his plans are to deliver mental health first aid training to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools; and how many (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools have received that training.

Ms Nadine Dorries: When the ‘Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children andYoung People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper and Next Steps’ was published in 2018, we had trained a member of staff in mental health first aid in a third of state secondary schools and in our response set out an aim to reach 1,000 schools in the year following publication. However, in the context of the pandemic and with feedback from schools, we are prioritising training for staff to raise awareness about wellbeing and mental health. The Department for Education’s Wellbeing for Education Return and Wellbeing for Education Recovery programme provides free expert training, support and resources for staff reaching up to 15,000 schools. In February 2021, Public Health England launched a free online Psychological First Aid training course aimed at people who care for or work with children and young people aged up to 25 years old.

Eating Disorders

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the financial costs incurred by the NHS as a result of (a) increased severity of illness, (b) long-term development of physical health implications and (c) A&E admissions in the event that there have been delays in providing treatment to people with eating disorders.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We have made no central estimate. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to closely monitor trends in demand for adult and children and young people’s eating disorder treatment across both inpatient and community settings. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, we continue to invest in eating disorder services and we have announced additional funding for financial year 2021/22 to expedite expansion of services for both adults and children and young people.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to prioritise people with (a) asthma and (b) other respiratory conditions for the covid-19 booster vaccination.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September. Individuals in stage two should be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged over 50 years old and those aged 16 to 49 years old who are in an influenza or COVID-19 at-risk group, are included in stage two. Influenza at-risk groups include some sufferers of chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma.Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme, as well as cohorts and eligibility, will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made use of the free flu jab list to identify patients who need to be prioritised for the covid-19 booster vaccinations.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine as soon as possible from September. Individuals at stage two would be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged over 50 years old and those aged 16 to 49 years old who are in an influenza or COVID-19 at-risk group, are included in stage two.Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme, as well as cohorts and eligibility, will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the vaccine take up rate in areas where it is lower than the national average.

Nadhim Zahawi: Assessment of local vaccination rates is led by National Health Service teams. Data on uptake is being monitored and shared daily with local authority Directors of Public Health to enable them to see emerging trends and react to any developing inequalities. NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed a Vaccine Equalities Tool to support delivery and deployment models at national and local level. At a local level qualitative information about the reasons for vaccine refusal is collected.The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England provide advice and information including a range of targeted activities and communications via TV, radio, and social media. We are also working closely with community and faith leaders to champion the vaccine, particularly in areas with lower uptake. On 25 January we released £23.75million funding to support our Community Champions Scheme. Funding has been allocated to 60 councils and voluntary groups across England to expand work to support those most at risk from COVID-19 and boost vaccine take up.On 10 June, NHS England and NHS Improvement announced £20 million for vaccination sites across the country to increase staffing, boost uptake and ensure equal access.

Department for Education

Schools: Coronavirus

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the prevalence of the Delta variant of covid-19 within schools; and what steps he is taking to stop further transmission of covid-19 to pupils aged under 16.

Nick Gibb: Data on the Delta variant is held by the Department of Health and Social Care, where Public Health England (PHE) leads on surveillance and outbreak management.PHE publishes weekly technical briefings on COVID-19 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England, which are available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/997418/Variants_of_Concern_VOC_Technical_Briefing_17.pdf.This sets out (pages 34-37) data on the number of clusters or outbreaks associated with a range of settings, including schools, colleges and nurseries.PHE also publishes the total number of cases of each variant in the UK as part of information on variants of COVID-19, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/new-sars-cov-2-variant. This includes total confirmed Delta variant cases and prevalence split by region, as part of PHE weekly technical briefings.The Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the UK. Therefore, as well as variant surveillance, both PHE and the Office for National Statistics’ routine surveillance on case rates, outbreaks, and prevalence are tracking Delta.The Department’s priority is for schools to deliver face-to-face, high quality education to all pupils. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health.We have worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and PHE to revise guidance which schools should follow to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.We will continue to keep these measures under review, in partnership with health experts and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.

Schools: Admissions

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department is having with local authorities on flexible school admissions for summerborn children.

Nick Gibb: The Department published updated guidance for local authorities and parents on the admission of summer born children in 2020 to help ensure that parents can make an informed decision about what is right for their child, and that admission authorities make decisions that are in the best interests of the child.In May, the Department published the results of our latest research surveys of local authorities and parents into the delayed admission of summer born children to school. This research shows that local authorities are responding positively to requests by parents to delay their summer born child’s start in Reception.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, issued a statement to all admission authorities, including local authorities, to ensure admission authorities take these decisions in the best interests of the child.

Pupils: Coronavirus

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review the rule which requires school children in a bubble to isolate for 10 days in the event that one child in that bubble tests positive for covid-19.

Nick Gibb: From Step 4 of the roadmap, it will no longer be necessary to keep children and young people in consistent groups (‘bubbles’). This means that bubbles will not be required for any summer provision, for example summer schools, or in schools from the autumn term.From Step 4, nurseries, schools and colleges will not routinely be required to undertake contact tracing for children and young people. Instead, pupils who test positive will be subject to the normal test and trace process, which will identify close contacts. This will be limited to very close contacts.Unless they test positive, children and those who are double vaccinated will not be required to isolate from 16 August if they are identified as a close contact. Self-isolation continues for those who have tested positive for COVID-19.The Department for Education has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England to develop guidance for schools.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on student absenteeism, by (a) primary school, (b) secondary school and (c) local authority in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on student absenteeism, by (a) number of school days absent and (b) reasons for absence in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory obligation on local authorities to collate and submit data on student absenteeism to central Government.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what definition of student absenteeism is used to record data on student absence.

Nick Gibb: Information relating to pupil absence in school is collected on a termly basis from schools via the school census. Completion of the school census is a statutory requirement under section 537A of the Education Act 1996. Guidance on what is collected on termly attendance, including the full list of absence reasons, can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items.The overall absence rates for state-funded primary and secondary schools in England, by local authority, for academic years 2016/17 to 2018/19, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/99898173-7d81-4132-b9c7-9ef5695e425a.The number of sessions of absence, by reason for absence, in state-funded primary and secondary schools, and special schools in England for academic years 2016/17 to 2018/19, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/35b2b378-982d-4220-a992-26c678bb3e18. A session refers to half a day.Data is also published in the publication ‘Pupil absence in schools in England’, which gives information by academic years and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.There are similar publications on absence in the autumn term, and absence in the autumn and spring terms. The latest release covering autumn term 2020 can be found at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-term.Information has also been collected daily on attendance in schools and nurseries during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Social Services: Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is planning to take over summer 2021 to help young people in receipt of statutory services to re-engage with those services as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Vicky Ford: The department has ensured that children's social care services have continued to operate throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.The department’s regional improvement teams are working with local authorities who are experiencing challenges in providing statutory social care services to children. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have restarted their inspection and revisit activity, which once again allows us to monitor and hold local areas to account for quality of services. We established a vulnerable children and young people survey of local authorities and have been reviewing data to give insight into the ongoing delivery of children’s social care services.We are continuing to support local authorities to deliver services that meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Education, health and care plan quality and timeliness is something we have been monitoring through the COVID-19 outbreak and continue to do so. The NHS COVID-19 recovery plan includes measures that will support the recovery of health services for children with SEND and additional funding for respite services of £3 million. The published COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/973936/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-recovery-action-plan.pdf) also references various areas of support for children, including £31 million to be used to address particular challenges faced by individuals with a learning disability.Therapeutic, speech and language services for children with SEND have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The department are working urgently with education settings, the relevant Royal Colleges, and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that these issues are tackled. We have taken steps to remind schools and colleges that they should allow access to therapists and health professionals, and of their ability to use recovery and catch-up funding to secure further therapies within school.We continue to provide support to families on low incomes raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. We provided £40.8 million for the Family Fund in financial year 2020-21 to support over 90,000 families on low incomes raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. This included £13.5 million to specifically respond to needs arising from the COVID-19 outbreak. This financial year a total of £27.3 million is available.Beyond the support for children and young people in receipt of statutory services for children's social care and those with SEND, we are working across government to ensure that wider, targeted services are also available. NHS mental health services have remained open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and have deployed digital tools to enable them to connect with people and provide ongoing support. All NHS mental health trusts have provided 24/7 open access telephone lines (https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-immediate-establishment-of-24-7-urgent-nhs-mental-health-telephone-support-advice-and-triage/) to support people of all ages, and other health services for children and families have continued to operate.Additionally, we are ensuring that other key services such as early help, youth services and the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme are protected and there for children and young people who need them. We have asked social workers to make sure that children and young people known to children's social care are encouraged to make use of the HAF programme. The programme provides disadvantaged children across the country with enriching activities whilst supporting them to be healthy and active. I have written to all special and alternative provision schools to encourage them to offer Department for Education-funded summer school provision for their pupils and signposted them to HAF provision in their local areas where relevant.

Overseas Students: Hong Kong

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on international school students from Hong Kong who are unable to return to their families as a result of covid-19 restrictions and will be stranded in the UK for the summer 2021 holidays and whose schools will have closed.

Nick Gibb: We remain in close contact with the Hong Kong SAR Government in order to minimise disruption to UK and Hong Kong families and businesses. We will continue to work together to reduce the restrictions on international travel.We are working on a number of possible outcomes for those pupils who are currently unable to get home. Some boarding schools will make arrangements for them to stay there, or perhaps go to another boarding school if necessary. Some may also be able to stay with guardians, or perhaps family in the UK, where that is an option.

Children and Young People: Education

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people of (a) primary and (b) secondary school age his Department estimates are outside of the mainstream education system.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils in each school type is published by age in the national statistics publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’.A table is available at the following link and includes pupils in special schools and pupil referral units: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e30f2a37-0ebb-43af-87a4-f31edf088433.The release also provides information on pupils attending local authority funded alternative provision: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.The Department does not collect data on the number of children and young people educated otherwise than at a school, such as home education. This data is held by local authorities.

Children and Young People: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help re-engage children and young people in their education as covid-19 restrictions are eased.

Nick Gibb: Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government provided extensive support for schools and acted swiftly to help minimise the impact on pupils’ education. The Department knows that the COVID-19 outbreak has caused particular challenges for children who may already have been disengaged from education. That is why we are working closely with local authorities and schools to help them re-engage pupils, including providing best practice guidance. Since June 2020, the Department has announced over £3 billion of additional funding to support education recovery. Recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school, and college leaders the flexibility to support those children and young people who have been most impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department is delivering a number of programmes this summer, including the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the summer schools programme, to support children, young people and their families. The Department’s Wellbeing for Education Return programme also helps education staff support the wellbeing and resilience of pupils, students, staff, parents and carers to respond to the immediate pressures of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is vital that pupils attend school to minimise the longer-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their education, wellbeing and wider development, and that is why education continues to be prioritised as restrictions are relaxed.

Social Services: Children and Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children and young people who are outside of the mainstream education system and are in receipt of statutory services who are (a) engaging with and (b) not engaging with those services.

Vicky Ford: Those children who are in receipt of statutory services are likely to be classified in the data as either children in need, and in receipt of social care services, or as having special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and in receipt of extra educational support, plus potentially health and social care. Those children outside of mainstream education would either be in alternative provision, a special school or home-educated.As at 31 March 2020, the number of single and dual-main registered pupils characterised as children in need (including looked-after children) in state place-funded alternative provision was 4,220. There were also 31,390 pupils characterised as children in need in state funded special schools. This data is available at https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2ea0be8f-d78e-4c39-a0cc-7e936005de3f.As at January 2021, the number of single and dual-main registered pupils characterised as having special educational needs in state place-funded Alternative provision was 10,575. There were also 132,306 pupils in state-funded special schools. This data is available at https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4b1484d8-bfa3-4ce5-a556-4526f131e642.The department does not hold data on how many of these pupils are engaging with those statutory children’s services.The department does not collect data on the number of children and young people educated otherwise than at a school; this data is held by local authorities. We remain committed to a registration system for children not in school. Further details on a proposed registration system will be in the government response to the children not in school consultation, which we intend to publish in the coming months.

Ministry of Justice

Employment Support Allowance: Appeals

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment support allowance appeals to the First Tier Tribunal in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21 that were cleared without a hearing were (i) withdrawn by the appellant, (ii) struck out, (iii) superseded and (iv) lapsed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many universal credit appeals to the First Tier Tribunal in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21 that were cleared without a hearing were (i) withdrawn by the appellant, (ii) struck out, (iii) superseded and (iv) lapsed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many personal independence payment appeals to the First Tier Tribunal in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21 that were cleared without a hearing were (i) withdrawn by the appellant, (ii) struck out, (iii) superseded and (iv) lapsed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many universal credit appeals to the First Tier Tribunal in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21 challenged a decision not to place a claimant in the the limited capability for work and work-related activity group; and what proportion of the total number of universal credit appeals did that figure represent in each of those years.

Chris Philp: General information about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statisticsThe specific information requested is set out below: Employment Support Allowance1Universal Credit (UC)Personal Independence Payment2Withdrawn Before HearingStruck Out Before HearingSuperseded3 Withdrawn Before HearingStruck Out Before HearingSupersededWithdrawn Before HearingStruck Out Before HearingSuperseded2018/19420578675442702720283562113156512019/20130214751587259047663373321302312020/2143027990881244236672092124531564 In 2019/20p, 12,235 (66%) UC appeals included an element5 relating to Limited Capability for Work, and in 2020/21p the figure was 3,002 (38%).1Includes Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and ESA (Reassessments)2Includes Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and PIP (Reassessments)3Includes superseded and lapsed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)4Financial Years April to Marchp Provisional data and subject to further change. SSCS appeals are currently undergoing system updates. As such the data for 2019 to 2021 is based on legacy systems and these will be an under-representation of the actual number (2019/20 circa 1% and 2020/21 circa 14%).5HMCTS may not be aware of the elements under dispute until after the DWP response is received6Limited Capability for Work is an element of UCAlthough care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available. The data may differ slightly to that of the published statistics where data was run on a different date.

Tenants

Gareth Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to review the effectiveness of Form A restrictions in protecting third party interests for a tenancy in common.

Alex Chalk: There are no plans to review the law in this area at present. The Law of Property Act 1925, Land Registration Acts of 1925 and 2002 and the Land Registration Rules set out a clear legal framework and checks and balances for protecting the various interests in registered estates and charges, including those of third party interests. HM Land Registry publish practice notes which offer guidance on the role and use of Form A and other restrictions, including one on ‘Notices, restrictions and protection of third-party interests’:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notices-restrictions-and-the-protection-of-third-party-interests-in-the-register.

Marriage: Humanism

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2021 to Question 20609, on Marriage: Humanism, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting legal recognition to humanist marriages on the same time-limited basis as outdoor civil marriages.

Alex Chalk: As the Government has made clear, a Law Commission project on marriage and civil partnership is due to report later this year and is expected to present recommendations for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully.Options being explored by the Law Commission as part of their review include offering couples greater flexibility over the form of their ceremony, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as Humanists and independent celebrants, to conduct legally binding weddings.The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.

Ministry of Justice: Land

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of all land owned by the Ministry of Justice in the South East of England.

Chris Philp: Information regarding land owned by the Ministry of Justice (including location and tenure) is available via the Government’s Property and Land asset database, e-PIMS, which can be accessed via the following link: http//data.gov.uk/dataset/c186e17f-654d-4134-aed7-b3f13469546a/central-government-welsh-ministers-and-local-government-including-property-and-land

Ministry of Justice: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Philp: We continually review the waste generated on our estate and work with our commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on our sites. Where we can’t avoid this, we work with our suppliers to move any waste we generate up the waste hierarchy. Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf

Ministry of Justice: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Chris Philp: Details of the department’s energy usage for 2018/19 & 2019/20 data is available in the Annual Report and Account publications.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936835/moj-annual-report-accounts-2019-2020.pdf Details of the department’s energy usage and associated costs for 2020-21 is shown in the following table. April 2020 – March 2021kWh£(m)1,263,47297

Election Offences: Convictions

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for in-person electoral fraud since 2010.

Chris Philp: The Ministry of Justice has published information on convictions for in-person electoral fraud offences in England and Wales, up to December 2020, available in the ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code’ data tool, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987731/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2020.xlsx In the data tool linked above, select ‘Personation’ from the ‘Detailed Offence’ drop down list to see records for convictions since 2013. For the period prior to 2013, please find data on in-person electoral fraud convictions between 2010 and 2020 in the attached table. In this response, ‘in-person electoral fraud’ has been interpreted to mean the followingoffences under the relevant legislation:Personation at local / parliamentary election, Contrary to section 60(1) and 168 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.Aid / abet personation at local / parliamentary election, Contrary to section 60(1) and 168 of the Representation of the People Act 1983.Table (xlsx, 10.9KB)

Ministry of Justice: Security

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what private companies are contracted to provide security services at his Department’s buildings that contain Ministerial private offices; and whether there are closed circuit television cameras in any Ministerial private office within his Departmental estate.

Chris Philp: As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the presence of contractors for the building of the (a) Five Wells and (b) Glen Parva sites on the availability of parking nearby.

Alex Chalk: At both the HMP Five Wells and Glen Parva construction sites all vehicles must be parked within the work area site boundary using the temporary car park areas provided. Contractors are not permitted to use the streets or roads surrounding either site for parking.

Prisons: Leicestershire

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much and what proportion of the increased cost of £116 million in the build for the new prison at Glen Parva is as a result of (a) inflation and (b) additional ground works; what additional works were required to be carried out; and for what reason the additional work was not identified when initial feasibility works and surveying and engineering assessment works were carried out.

Alex Chalk: The initial cost estimate for the previous Glen Parva project was based on an earlier design and reflected different assumptions than the current project; it was not a contract price and is therefore not directly comparable to the contract price for the current project. The previous project was part of a programme of six new prisons within the Prison Estate Transformation Programme. After that programme was reduced in scope in 2019, the project moved to being delivered on a standalone basis.The project is currently delivering on time and on budget. The current budget reflects cost changes since the previous scheme and moving from an initial cost estimate to a contract price. Inflation has resulted in a £12m cost increase and, as initial cost estimates were carried out prior to detailed site surveys, site conditions have resulted in an increase of £8m. Other factors contributing to the increased cost include diseconomies of scale, changes in the construction market, and changes in scope and design to support the sustainability agenda, and to drive better outcomes and value for the taxpayer.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mitigation funding the Government has made available for the (a) Five Wells and (b) Glen Parva sites; and what has this money been spent on.

Alex Chalk: We are unable to disclose information regarding mitigation funding and expenditure on either the Five Wells or Glen Parva sites as this is commercially sensitive information.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many apprenticeships have been created for local residents living within a 25 mile radius of the (a) Five Wells site and (b) Glen Parva site; how long into the construction phase were those apprenticeships created; and how many of those apprenticeships have been filled by ex-offenders.

Alex Chalk: As of May 2021, HMP Five Wells has employed 58 apprentices. It is estimated that over 50% of these were people living within a 25 mile radius of the site. None of these self-declared as ex-offenders.As of May 2021, Glen Parva has employed 4 apprentices, 50% (2) of these were people living within a 25 mile radius of the site. None of these self-declared as ex-offenders.The total number of apprenticeships that have been created throughout the pre-construction and construction phases, are set out below. Please note that if a request is made for information and the total figure amounts to five people or fewer, the MoJ must consider whether this could lead to the identification of individuals and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations. For this reason, ≤5 is used as a replacement value from which it would be difficult to isolate or extract any individual data in this instance.   Apprenticeships created at HMP Five Wells *Prior to May-19 during pre construction phase 13May-19  (construction start) Less than 5Jun-19 Less than 5Jul-19  Aug-19 Less than 5Sep-19 Less than 5Oct-19 Less than 5Nov-19 Less than 5Dec-19  Jan-20 Less than 5Feb-20  Mar-20 5Apr-20  May-20 Less than 5Jun-20 Less than 5Jul-20 7Aug-20 Less than 5Sep-20 6Oct-20 5Nov-20  Dec-20  Jan-21  Feb-21 Less than 5Mar-21 Less than 5Apr-21 Less than 5May-21  Total 58 Apprenticeships created at Glen ParvaSep-202Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Feb-212Mar-21 Apr-21 May-21 Total4

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time jobs have been created for local residents living within a 25 mile radius of (a) Five Wells site and (b) Glen Parva site; how long into the construction phase were those jobs created; and how many of those jobs have been filled by ex-offenders.

Alex Chalk: As of May 2021, at HMP Five Wells 81 jobs were held by those living within a 25 mile radius, representing 37% of the newly created jobs. As of May 2021, at Glen Parva 37 jobs were held by those living within a 25 mile radius, representing 32% of the newly created jobs.The table below shows job creation month on month since beginning of construction at each site. Please note that if a request is made for information and the total figure amounts to five people or fewer, the MoJ must consider whether this could lead to the identification of individuals and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations. For this reason, ≤5 is used as a replacement value from which it would be difficult to isolate or extract any individual data in this instance. Jobs created at HMP Five WellsMay-19 7Jun-19 21Jul-19 0Aug-19 0Sep-19 ≤5Oct-19 ≤5Nov-19 ≤5Dec-19 ≤5Jan-20 12Feb-20 12Mar-20 0Apr-20 ≤5May-20 ≤5Jun-20 ≤5Jul-20 31Aug-20 ≤5Sep-20 46Oct-20 15Nov-20 41Dec-20 0Jan-21 7Feb-21 ≤5Mar-21 ≤5Apr-21 0May-21 8Total 221 Jobs created at Glen ParvaAug-20≤5Sep-2013Oct-205Nov-207Dec-2010Jan-2138Feb-2114Mar-217Apr-219May-2112Total116 At HMP Five Wells, as of May 2021, 26 roles were filled by ex-offenders or prisoners released on temporary licence, representing 12% of the new jobs created.At Glen Parva, as of May 2021, 31 roles were filled by ex-offenders or prisoners released on temporary license, representing 27% of the new jobs created.By the end of the construction programme for both sites, 25% of the new job creation target during the construction phase is targeted to be filled by ex-offenders or prisoners released on temporary licence. However, this is reliant on job-holders and contractors self-declaring any convictions.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contractors have been on site per week at the (a) Five Wells site and (b) Glen Parva site from the beginning of construction to date.

Alex Chalk: At HMP Five Wells, starting in May 2019, the workforce on the site averaged around 100 people per day throughout the working week. The workforce built up over time and peaked in November 2020 with approximately 1,000 people per day for a two-month period. Currently the site is running with approximately 750 people per day during the working week.At Glen Parva, construction began in August 2020 with around 30 people per day on site. This has steadily risen as activity increases on site, with a number of dips such as over the Christmas period. Currently, there are approximately 470 people on site each day.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) car and (b) light vehicle movements per week there have been at the (i) Five Wells site and (ii) Glen Parva site from the beginning of construction to date.

Alex Chalk: At HMP Five Wells car and van movements (entering and leaving site) started in May 2019 at around 100 vehicles per week and increased to around 3,500 vehicles per week at peak in October 2020. The site is currently (in July 2021) running at around 2,500 vehicles per week.At Glen Parva, car and light vehicle movements are not tracked specifically – deliveries to site are tracked but this includes heavier vehicles and excludes operatives arriving by car. It is therefore not possible to provide data on the number of car and light vehicle movements at the site.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many HGV movements there have been at the (a) Five Wells site and (b) Glen Parvaper site from the beginning of construction to date.

Alex Chalk: Deliveries commenced at HMP Five Wells in May 2019, however it is not possible to distinguish between HGV deliveries and non-HGV deliveries from the data available. Deliveries commenced at Glen Parva in January 2021. Between January 2021 and the end of June 2021, 8916 HGVs made deliveries to the site. All main contractors provide a traffic management plan which is shared with sub-contractors. This helps to manage the impact of construction traffic on the surrounding community.

Prisons: Buckinghamshire

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a definition of the catchment area within the South East from which his Department has collected statistics that prove an anticipated demand for prison places that will be satisfied by the proposed expanded facility at Edgcott, including full statistics used.

Alex Chalk: We currently define the South East region to be the region of England including London and surrounding counties, namely Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey and East and West Sussex.Projected demand for new prison places at both a national and local level is one of a range of factors that are taken into account when considering proposed sites for new prisons. Other considerations and constraints include closeness to home to facilitate resettlement back into the community, delivering value for money for the taxpayer (including in relation to the costs of both purchasing and developing new sites), the availability of land, and the ability to build on that land.In terms of demand for prison places, internal estimates indicate that by April 2027, when the proposed prison near Edgcott will be fully operational, areas within the South East region will have both surpluses and deficits in Category C Resettlement places, including a deficit of places in London.As a national service, HMPPS uses individual prisons’ capacity to meet national and wider geographical demand. Internal modelling has indicated that, if the MoJ did nothing to expand the existing estate save for new prisons already under construction, demand for Resettlement Category C places could outstrip capacity by c. 4,000, nationally, in April 2027.The proposed new prison will hold men for whom it is the nearest available Category C Resettlement prison place to their home area (subject to any other relevant constraints) providing the opportunity to maintain or re-establish family and community ties. Thus the proposed new prison near Edgcott is also critical in managing estimated deficits for Category C Resettlement prison places in the adjacent south west region.

Prisons: Buckinghamshire

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the map referred to in Buckinghamshire Council’s summary note of the meeting with Ministry of Justice officials dated 8 October 2020 relating to proposals for a new prison adjacent to HMP Grendon and HMP Springhill, showing a temporary construction access off Lawn House Lane.

Alex Chalk: The MoJ did not meet with Buckinghamshire Council on 8 October 2020.

Prisons: Buckinghamshire

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish copies of the (a) Heritage Advisory Report of September 2020, (b) Ecological Assessment by Tyler Grange dated Feb 2019 and (c) Atkins Transport Assessment of September 2020 referred to in the pre-planning discussions with Buckinghamshire Council, disclosed in response to freedom of information requests in relation to proposals for a new prison adjacent to HMP Grendon and HMP Springhill.

Alex Chalk: The Ministry of Justice submitted a planning application to Buckinghamshire Council for a new prison at Grendon Springhill on 21 June 2021. The Heritage, Ecology and Transport Assessments have been updated to reflect the revised scheme and have been submitted with the outline planning application. They will be made public in due course via the Buckinghamshire Council planning portal.

Prisons: Construction

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to determine the life carbon footprint of the (a) Five Wells and (b) Glen Parva prisons; how that footprint will be measured; and how frequently his Department plans to publish data on that footprint.

Alex Chalk: For both Five Wells and Glen Parva prisons, we have used industry best practice and existing prison benchmarks to forecast their operational carbon footprints. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) has also been adopted to encourage low carbon building designs and low embodied carbon construction materials.The operational carbon emissions of the prisons will be measured in line with Greening Government Commitment requirements. Once the prisons are operational this information will be regularly collated, along with data from all MoJ prisons, and our greenhouse gas emissions performance will be published annually.Looking ahead to our next four prisons, their whole life carbon footprint will be measured by adopting the PAS2080 Carbon Management in Infrastructure verification scheme.

Prisons: Buckinghamshire

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the evidential basis for his Department's assessment that a 10 per cent net gain in biodiversity will be achieved by the development of a new prison adjacent to HMP Grendon and HMP Springhill.

Alex Chalk: The MOJ submitted an application for outline planning permission to Buckinghamshire Council, the local planning authority, on the 21st June. The Biodiversity Net Gain assessment methodology, supporting calculations and plans have been submitted as part of the application for the development.The full details of our biodiversity plans will therefore be available to view, as part of our applications suite of documents, in due course via Buckinghamshire Council’s planning portal.

Treasury

Coronavirus: Screening

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason VAT is payable on PCR tests; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20 per cent normally applies to most goods and services, including PCR tests. Medical testing, where it is administered by registered health professionals, is exempt from VAT. The Government also continues to offer free COVID-19 testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms. Testing individuals after they arrive in the UK is an important tool to help the Government protect the public from the risk posed by imported cases of COVID-19 and to identify variants of concern. The Government recognises that the cost of PCR tests can be high, which is why it is working with the travel industry and private testing providers to see how costs can be reduced while ensuring that travel remains as safe as possible.

Self-employed Income Support Scheme

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme to include self-employed company directors and homeworkers, in particular those working in the travel industry who are not eligible for current salary support schemes.

Jesse Norman: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has supported 2.9 million people, paying over £25bn across all four SEISS grants. Together, the five SEISS grants combined will have provided individual claimants with support up to £36,570, making it one of the most generous self-employment income COVID support schemes in the world. Company directors are not self-employed and so cannot qualify for the SEISS. They have access to the CJRS if they are paid a salary through PAYE and if they meet the eligibility criteria. Those paid annually have been and are still eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission within the relevant cut-off dates.In designing the SEISS, the Government’s priority was to get support to the greatest number of people but in a way that guards against fraud and abuse. That meant designing a system where HMRC can automatically match the data people provide in their applications with information already in the system to verify and pay out the claim. The Government has explored a range of options and proposals to support company directors who pay themselves through dividends. However, HMRC do not have data – as it is not needed to administer the tax system – to identify them or verify how much grant they should be awarded. This would rely solely on self-certification and would thus open any scheme up to unacceptable levels of fraud and error by organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes.

Economic Situation: Yorkshire and the Humber

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Yorkshire and (b) York are allocated adequate funding to tackle economic inequalities.

Steve Barclay: The Government remains committed to tackling economic inequalities and levelling up Yorkshire and York. We have provided the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade, with Yorkshire and the Humber receiving £5.1bn in core schools funding in 21-22, and York receiving £149m.The Civil Service is also committed to relocating roles from London to York and Yorkshire. Leeds will become the DWP's second HQ and house a Ministerial office. In addition, the Cabinet Office and Defra plan to relocate many roles from London to York with 62 live recruitment campaigns today.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Morley and Outwood

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses have received support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in Morley and Outwood constituency to date.

Jesse Norman: HM Revenue and Customs publish statistics on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) regularly. The latest statistics were published on 1 July 2021. These statistics report that a cumulative total of 18,200 employments have been put on furlough at various times since the start of the CJRS where the employee was resident in Morley and Outwood constituency. This is based on claims made by 14 June 2021. Figures for the number of businesses claiming support through the CJRS by Parliamentary constituency are not available. The registered address for PAYE schemes making CJRS claims is often different from the workplace, particularly for larger firms with a few PAYE schemes covering thousands of employees. Parliamentary constituency figures based on PAYE scheme addresses are therefore likely to be inaccurate.

Revenue and Customs: Re-employment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2021 to Question 15260 on Civil Service Agencies: Standards, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that fire and rehire is not being used as a negotiating tactic in HM Revenue and Customs; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Current recruitment policy in place does not include firing and rehiring, and there are no plans to change this. HMRC have recognised unions (PCS and ARC) with whom they negotiate if the department wishes to make changes to terms and conditions.

NHS England and NHS Improvement

Paul Bristow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has had with the NHS Chief People Officer on value-for-money in (a) the administration of Our NHS People and (b) human resources, organisational development and workforce teams under NHS England and NHS Improvement.

Steve Barclay: The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is committed to spending taxpayers’ money responsibly and delivering value for money for them. To support his work, he has requested that NHSEI, like other ALBs, share a detailed organisation breakdown, including the grade number, cost and relevant job descriptions broken down by team in each directorate. He has asked for a meeting with the Chief People Officer and other relevant Senior Officials in NHSEI to discuss this and hopes that one can be agreed as soon as possible.

Public Sector: Pay

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits for lower-paid public sector workers of (a) introducing a real time payment model for salaries and (b) offering weekly rather than monthly payment frequencies for salaries.

Steve Barclay: Although HM Treasury sets the direction of public sector pay policy centrally, it is not responsible for deciding what payment model public sector workers are paid by. Individual public sector employers are responsible for assessing the needs of their workforce and administering a payment system.

Urban Areas: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a cities fund to capitalise on the opportunities of cities and improve their local economies.

Steve Barclay: The Government is committed to levelling up opportunities across the UK. As set out in the Plan for Growth this includes renewing our commitment to the UK’s cities and backing them with funding including the £400m Brownfield Fund for Mayoral Combined Authorities, which will remediate land in city regions to deliver 26,000 homes. It also includes new intra-city transport settlements, which will invest £4.2bn from 22-23 for five year consolidated funding settlements for eight city regions. These London-style settlements will allow regions to invest in local transport projects that best serve the needs of the local area, enabling investment in local transport networks - including public and sustainable transport schemes.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 6 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to (a) establish suitable instruments and roles to monitor and implement his Department's approach to freedom of religion and belief, taking into consideration other international approaches, (b) establish permanently the role of Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, (c) provide that Special Envoy with appropriate resources and authority to work across his Department and (d) appoint a Director General level champion for freedom of religion and belief; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Nigel Adams: The UK Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022.On Recommendation 6, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, and Rehman Chishti MP previously served as the Special Envoy. In December 2020 the Prime Minister appointed Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy for freedom of religion and belief. The Special Envoy works with Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, and through the Foreign Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Envoy also works closely with FCDO Ministers in promoting FoRB in their respective geographic areas, and through her Private Secretary in the FCDO, with support from the FCDO FoRB team and other officials on specific aspects of her role, as well as the FCDO media office and Special Advisers. In addition and furthering the establishment of instruments and roles, a DG-level Board Sponsor for FoRB was appointed, replacing the FCO FoRB Board Champion.

Myanmar: Overseas Aid

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to spend more than £58.4 million on aid to Myanmar as set out on his Department's Development Tracker for the 2021-22 financial year.

Nigel Adams: FCDO's 21/22 planned country allocations (budgets) will be published in our Annual Report later this year alongside our audited 20/21 accounts. HMG's final 2021 ODA spend, including country data will be published in the 'Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend' in autumn 2022. We will continue to publish our spend information by project on DevTracker as always (updated monthly).

Jerusalem: Palestinians

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that international law is upheld in relation to the eviction of Palestinian households the Silwan area of East Jerusalem.

James Cleverly: The UK regularly raises the issue of demolitions and forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes with the Government of Israel. The Foreign Secretary raised ongoing evictions, demolitions and settlement activity with the Israeli Authorities during his visit to the region on 26 May. The UK is clear that in all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. We monitor the situation in Silwan closely, and officials regularly visit and attend related court hearings.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 2 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment on (a) making the UK a global leader in championing freedom of religion and belief and (b) ensuring the UK’s engagement in multilateral institutions; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to recommendation 2 of the Truro Review, what recent steps he has taken to champion freedom of religion and belief through the (a) UN Human Rights Council, (b) Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe and (c) Council of Europe.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to progress the implementation of recommendation two of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to champion freedom of religion and belief through the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review process.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to progress the implementation of recommendation two of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment.

Nigel Adams: The UK Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 2, freedom of religion and belief is a priority in the FCDO's multilateral work. It was a key strand of the UK's successful campaign to be re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Overseas Aid

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in the overall aid budget, what steps he is taking to help ensure that organisations in the UK that are funded by Government to provide development assistance overseas are able to plan their work for the next three years.

Nigel Adams: We know that aid organisations, like many others, are facing challenges as a result of the pandemic. We will work together with these organisations to work through the implications for them and their work of the temporary reduction to Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). FCDO's planned budget allocations for Financial Year 2021/22 will be published in our Annual Report later this year. FCDO cannot publish multi-year budgets at present as the government has not yet concluded a multi-year Spending Review.

Nepal: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will increase the number of covid-19 vaccinations supplied to Nepal.

Nigel Adams: Our G7 Presidency championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics and we will share 100 million doses within the next year, 30 million of those by the end of 2021, and begin to share the first 5 million doses in the coming weeks. 80% of the vaccines shared will go to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines. COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines where they will be most effective. We have already begun discussions to ensure the first 5 million doses are shared by the end of September. Going forward, decisions on which vaccines will be shared will be based on the continued reliability of supply chains, regulatory restrictions and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Nepal has already received 348,000 vaccine doses through COVAX with further tranches on the way.

Nepal: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to assist the 1.4 million people in Nepal who require AstraZeneca vaccines in the next seven days before their time window elapses for a second dose.

Nigel Adams: Our G7 Presidency championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics and we will share 100 million doses within the next year, 30 million of those by the end of 2021, and begin to share the first 5 million doses in the coming weeks. 80% of the vaccines shared will go to COVAX, the multilateral mechanism set up to support international co-operation on vaccines. COVAX remains best-placed to allocate vaccines where they will be most effective. We have already begun discussions to ensure the first 5 million doses are shared by the end of September. Going forward, decisions on which vaccines will be shared will be based on the continued reliability of supply chains, regulatory restrictions and advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Nepal has already received 348,000 vaccine doses through COVAX with further tranches on the way.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to progress the implementation of recommendation one of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government's Manifesto commitment.

Nigel Adams: The UK Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 1, a framework is being developed that will be available to all staff setting out why freedom of religion or belief is a core human right to be championed.

Brazil: Human Rights

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help protect the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil.

Wendy Morton: The UK is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals, and we continues to support work with indigenous communities across Brazil, including in the Amazon region. UK programmes on building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic include a focus on vulnerable groups, including in the Amazon region, and work on issues such as solar energy, primary health, and skills development. The UK has also supported local and indigenous people in the Amazon through our International Climate Finance Programmes, with nearly £120 million invested since 2012.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to progress the implementation of recommendation 3 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 3, research has been commissioned into the phenomenon of Christian Persecution and this will be used to guide and inform future work.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to progress the implementation of recommendation four of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government's Manifesto commitment.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 4, a number of mechanisms to gather data and information already exist. The effectiveness of these is being assessed, and how they can be used to understand and track issues related to freedom of religion and belief (FoRB). In addition, an FCDO-funded project with the Religious Freedom Institute developed additional indicators on FoRB where needed.

Sri Lanka: Overseas Aid

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to spend more than the £800,000 on aid to Sri Lanka as set out on his Department's Development Tracker in the 2021-22 financial year.

Nigel Adams: FCDO's 21/22 planned country allocations (budgets) will be published in our Annual Report later this year alongside our audited 20/21 accounts. HMG's final 2021 ODA spend, including country data will be published in the 'Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend' in autumn 2022. We will continue to publish our spend information by project on DevTracker as always (updated monthly).

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 5 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to (a) bolster research into the critical intersection of freedom of religion and belief and minority rights with both broader human rights issues and other critical concerns such as security and economic activity and (b) use such research to articulate freedom of religion and belief focussed policies to address those matters; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 5, various research activities have already been funded, including establishing the John Bunyan Fund, which amongst other things, has looked at the links between gender and freedom of religion and belief. We continue to look for opportunities to support quality research.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on implementing recommendation 7 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to (a) ensure that there are mechanisms in place to facilitate an immediate response to atrocity crimes, including genocide and (b) take steps in response to atrocity crimes by (i) setting up early warning mechanisms, (ii) using diplomacy to help de-escalate tensions and resolve disputes and (iii) developing support to help with upstream prevention work.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress has been made on implementing recommendation 7 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to recognise that the ultimate determination of genocide must be legal not political; what steps his Department is taking to determine its policy in relation to genocide; if his Department will make public statements condemning such atrocities; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 7, the UK remains strongly committed to early and effective action to prevent all mass atrocities including violence against religious groups. As most atrocities occur in and around armed conflict, the Government has dedicated significant resources to preventing conflict as a means of reducing the risk of atrocities occurring.The UK uses early warning tools, diplomacy, development and programmatic support, and defence tools, including the armed forces, to strengthen the international system's prevention and response. Our work in this area is long-standing, both in terms of preventing atrocities and of securing accountability and justice for atrocities committed. The UK's thematic atrocity prevention work is set in the context of our wider approach to conflict prevention, but we also look for the risk of atrocities in specific geographical settings.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 8 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment on ensuring that the UK is prepared to impose sanctions against perpetrators of freedom of religion and belief abuses; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. On Recommendation 8, the Global Human Rights Sanctions regime was launched on 6 July 2020. It is not appropriate to speculate on who may be designated under the regime in the future, as to do so could reduce the impact. We will continue to consider further designations, guided by the human rights objectives of the sanctions regime and the evidence.

Persecution of Christians Across the Globe Independent Review

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on implementing recommendation 9 of the Truro Review in accordance with the Government’s Manifesto commitment to establish a John Bunyan freedom of religion and belief stream within his Department's Magna Carta Fund; and what work on that recommendation remains outstanding.

Nigel Adams: The Government has committed to implementing in full the recommendations in the Bishop of Truro's review, and work continues to implement them in a way that will bring real improvement to the lives of those persecuted due to their faith or belief. Of the 22 recommendations we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022.On Recommendation 9, The John Bunyan Fund for Freedom of Religion or Belief was launched in August 2019, funding 15 research projects FY 2019-20. These projects have all concluded, and work is in hand to implement some of the key recommendations. Subsequently we have used the Fund to deepen understanding of the intersecting vulnerabilities experienced by religious minorities living in poverty in the shadows of Covid-19, providing training to local data gatherers in two affected countries and producing reports on the scale of the problem.

Nepal: Overseas Aid

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is planning to spend more than £55.3 million on aid in Nepal as set out on his Department's Development Tracker in the 2021-22 financial year.

Nigel Adams: FCDO's 21/22 planned country allocations (budgets) will be published in our Annual Report later this year alongside our audited 20/21 accounts. HMG's final 2021 ODA spend, including country data will be published in the 'Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend' in autumn 2022. We will continue to publish our spend information by project on DevTracker as always (updated monthly).

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Nigel Adams: The most recent published summary of the FCDO UK energy costs are available in FCO and DFID annual report and accounts:-FCO - 2018/19 (page 73) and 2019/20 (page 30). (In line with our Government Greening Commitment (GGC) scope, apportioned FCO Services' wider market costs are deducted from the FCDO total figures). These figures can also be found in FCO Sustainability Reports which are also on gov.ukDFID - 2018/19 (page 63) and 2019/20 (page 71)2020/21 figures will be published the FCDO annual report and accounts on 22 September 2021.

Education: Females

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential links between universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, girls’ education and climate change.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential link between universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and protecting the environment.

Wendy Morton: The global climate crisis is a major threat to girls' education, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender equality. SRHR, including voluntary family planning, and girls' education have wide-ranging benefits for individuals and societies, including supporting their adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change. The UK is a proud defender of SRHR and champion of the right of all girls to twelve years of quality education. The UK is committed to delivering an inclusive COP26 that advances gender equality within climate action and finance. Our recently published COP Presidency paper 'Priorities for Public Climate Finance' sets out gender-responsive climate finance as a UK priority, which we are championing through our COP26 and G7 presidencies.

Gender: Equality

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the Gender Equality Forum 2021.

Wendy Morton: Promoting gender equality and advancing women and girls' rights around the world is a priority for the UK Government. In our G7 Presidency, we have committed to promote our three 'Es' of gender equality: 'Educating Girls, Empowering Women, and Ending violence against women and girls'. We supported these goals during the Generation Equality Forum in Paris. As a Co-Chair of the Gender Based Violence Action Coalition, at the Global Equality Forum the UK launched our flagship programme 'What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale', worth up to £67.5 million which is the first global programme to scale up proven approaches to prevent gender-based violence. We also joined a number of collective commitments with other partners through the Action Coalitions on Gender Based Violence, Feminist Action for Climate Justice, Bodily Autonomy and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, and Economic Justice and Rights which demonstrated our broad commitment to advance gender equality. We are building on momentum from Paris through the upcoming Girls Education Summit and COP in November.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Weapons: Testing

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on legal fees in relation to British nuclear test litigation to date.

Leo Docherty: The net amount spent on legal costs in relation to the Nuclear Test Veterans Group Litigation known as AB and Ors v Ministry of Defence is £786,939.48. The legal action reached the Supreme Court in November 2011 on the issue of limitation. The Supreme Court found in favour of the MOD in March 2012 when the legal costs in the Group Litigation were £4,786,939.48. In line with the Court's decision to award MOD 90% of its costs of the limitation issue in the High Court and 100% of its costs in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, MOD recovered £4,000,000 in legal costs from the Claimants' After The Event Insurers giving the net costs figure of £786,939.48.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Mental Health

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, published May 2021, on the design of the universal credit journal and the ability of people with mental health problems to use third party support to help manage their universal credit account.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made. Universal Credit (UC) provides personalised and tailored support for all claimants and Work Coaches are available to discuss any queries they may have about their online journals. Claimants can also provide authority for a third party to discuss aspects of their claim on their behalf. The Department provides mental health training for staff who have direct contact with claimants, including all Work Coaches, to equip them to identify mental wellbeing issues or vulnerabilities, and to take appropriate action to support individuals. Work Coaches will tailor support to the needs of the individual and work closely with local organisations that provide additional specialist support. To enable Work Coaches to provide that tailored experience, with the permission of the claimant, they are able to record, in a free text format, through the use of ‘pinned notes’ in the UC system, information which supports staff in identifying and managing relevant experiences and circumstances of individual claimants. The Department is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society, in both making and maintaining their claim. Help to Claim, delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, offers tailored and practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim.

Vaccine Damage Tribunal: Compensation

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for compensation under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 were received by her Department in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020; and how many of those applications are still awaiting a decision.

Justin Tomlinson: The Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off tax free payment, currently £120,000, to those people who are severely disabled as a result of vaccination against a specified disease, within the meaning of the Act. It is not compensation. It is a payment to help ease the financial burden for those individuals where, on very rare occasions, vaccination has caused severe disablement. 55 claims were received between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2019, 1 of which is outstanding. From 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020 96 claims were received and 37 of those are outstanding.

Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Seventh Report of the Work and Pensions Committee, PIP and ESA assessments, Session 2017–19, HC 829, published on 14 February 2018, whether her Department implemented the recommendation in that report to commission and publish independent research on the impact of application and assessment for PIP and ESA on claimant health.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department did implement this Work and Pensions Committee recommendation and has commissioned independent research to understand claimants’ experience of completing the PIP and ESA questionnaires to identify improvements. It will be published alongside the forthcoming Health and Disability Green Paper.

Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the recommendation of the Seventh Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of Session 2017–19 entitled PIP and ESA assessments published on 14 February 2018, whether her Department has produced detailed guidance on the role of companions, including case studies demonstrating when and how to use their evidence.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Seventh Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of Session 2017–19 entitled PIP and ESA assessments published on 14 February 2018, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that contractors incorporate specific training on companions into their standard assessor training.

Justin Tomlinson: Companions play a crucial role in obtaining accurate information on how a claimant’s disability or health condition affects their day to day life. The Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide (PIPAG) and the Work Capability Assessments (WCA) Handbook provide comprehensive guidance for Health Professionals (HPs) on how to carry out assessments, including specific guidance on the role of companions. Please see links below to the PIPAG and WCA Handbook: PIP guidance can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers ESA guidance can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-capability-assessment-handbook-for-healthcare-professionals Assessment providers incorporate this guidance into their standard HP training programmes. The role of companions is addressed throughout HP training and learning is consolidated with practical case examples.

Vaccine Damage Tribunal: Compensation

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for compensation under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 were rejected in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020 as a result of the threshold requirement of 60 percent disability not being reached; and in how many of those cases the level of disability was less than 10 percent.

Justin Tomlinson: The Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off tax free payment, currently £120,000, to those people who are severely disabled as a result of vaccination against a specified disease, within the meaning of the Act.It is not compensation. It is a payment to help ease the financial burden for those individuals where, on very rare occasions, vaccination has caused severe disablement. To qualify for a Vaccine Damage Payment, two legal tests have to be met: establishing, on the balance of probabilities, that the disablement was caused by vaccination covered by the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS);the resulting disablement is severe disablement (60% or more) The majority of claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme are turned down on the basis of medical assessments that have concluded, vaccination did not cause the disability.In 2019 1 claim was rejected as a result of the threshold requirement of 60 percent disability not being reached. The figure for 2020 is Zero. The actual percentage of disablement is not recorded by the Vaccine Damage Payments Unit.

Universal Credit

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department conducted an impact assessment of the decision not to apply the £20 uplift to claimants on legacy benefits.

Will Quince: No such assessment has been undertaken. The government has focused support on Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit claimants because they are more likely to be affected by the sudden economic shock of COVID-19 than other legacy benefit claimants. Claimants on legacy benefits can voluntarily make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants considering making a claim should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying, as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their UC claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. They can also get help through the government funded Help to Claim scheme as well as the Citizens Advice Bureau and Citizens Advice Scotland.We are committed to supporting families most in need, spending billions more on welfare and planning a long-term route out of poverty by helping people increase their hours in employment or find new work through our Plan for Jobs.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Victoria Prentis: The Department’s energy costs over the last three years are detailed below.  2018-192019-202020-21Total energy costs ('000£)17,23817,14517,122 This information will be available in our Annual report and Accounts which will be published shortly. The Department is defined as comprising the following bodies: Defra Core Department Executive AgenciesAnimal and Plant Health AgencyCentre for Environment, Fisheries and AquacultureRural Payments AgencyVeterinary Medicines Directorate Non-Departmental Public BodiesEnvironment AgencyMarine Management OrganisationNatural EnglandRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewForestry Commission

Plants: Imports

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the ornamental horticulture industry on the effect of fees for the inspection of plant and tree imports from the EU on that industry.

Victoria Prentis: Defra took the decision to delay the introduction of fees for import checks of high-priority plants from the EU for 5 months to give businesses more time to prepare and adjust to the new charging arrangements. This has enabled an accurate calculation of the fees and allowed businesses more time to successfully implement the change. During this time, Defra communicated extensively with industry and stakeholder groups to ensure they were prepared for the new fees coming in. The methodology used to calculate fees for plant health services was agreed with trade following a fees review and consultation in 2017. It has long been UK Government policy to charge for many publicly provided goods and services. The standard approach is to set fees to recover the full costs of service delivery. This relieves the general taxpayer of costs, so that they are properly borne by users who benefit from a service. This allows for a more equitable distribution of public resources and enables lower public expenditure and borrowing. Defra plant health services operate in line with that principle and have done for many years. Plant health fees are reviewed regularly and adjusted to ensure no under, or over, recovery of costs and amended as necessary.

Pigeon Racing

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure the cross-Channel free movement of racing pigeons between the UK and EU member states.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what restrictions apply to the cross-Channel movement of racing pigeons from EU member states to the UK.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when restrictions on the cross-Channel movement of racing pigeons between the UK and EU member states will be lifted.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the EU Commission and the French Government on the cross-Channel movement of racing pigeons between the UK and EU member states.

Victoria Prentis: Now that the transition period has come to an end, Great Britain is treated as a third country by the EU and vice versa. The EU has different requirements for animals entering the EU from third countries than for those moving between Member States, including the requirement for the animals to be accompanied by a health certificate and/or quarantine periods where appropriate. The European Commission has recently stated its intention to allow movements of racing pigeons (for racing purposes) from GB to continue to enter the EU (and Northern Ireland) until 20 October under national rules applicable prior to 21 April 2021. After this period, these movements must meet the new requirements set out in the EU Animal Health Regulation and be accompanied by the appropriate EU Export Health Certificate. We continue to encourage the EU, through our regular engagement, to act pragmatically as part of our new trading relationship.

Domestic Waste: Recycling

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to local councils for the purposes of improving waste and recycling services for household waste.

Rebecca Pow: As part of the Government's Resource and Waste Strategy, published in 2019, Defra launched consultations on introducing major changes to recycling services through a suite of collection and packaging reforms. These reforms include introducing consistency in recycling; Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging; and a Deposit Return Scheme.The reform on consistency in recycling aims to help reduce confusion, and thereby improve the quantity and quality of what we recycle both at home and at work.Following support for the proposals in our 2019 consultation on 'Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collections in England,' we have introduced legislation through the Environment Bill that requires all local authorities in England to make arrangements for a core set of materials to be collected for recycling from households. This core set includes: paper and card; plastic; glass; metal; food waste and garden waste.On 7 May we published a second consultation on recycling consistency. The consultation is seeking further views on recycling consistency, including the materials in scope, exemptions and statutory guidance. We intend to provide further detail on the requirements outlined in the Environment Bill in secondary legislation. Even though these regulations will have effect in England only, as a matter of good practice we will inform Devolved Administrations of our regulations once they are drafted.Any new financial burdens introduced through new statutory duties on local authorities will be assessed and the net additional cost covered by the Government. We are working to assess net additional costs to local authorities and will continue to engage with local authorities on the cost estimates, as well as the appropriate timing for funding to be provided to authorities, to enable sufficient lead-in time ahead of the introduction of recycling consistency reforms.

Compost: Peat

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the England Peat Action Plan, published on 18 May 2021, when he plans to announce the launch of the Government's consultation on ending of the use of peat in horticultural compost.

Rebecca Pow: In the recently published England Peat Action Plan, we have committed to undertake a full consultation in 2021 on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this Parliament. We are committed to working with the industry to understand the implications of our proposals, identify blockages and to working with the private sector to develop and enact solutions, thus making the transition to peat alternatives as seamless as possible.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the planned timetable is for publication of the 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Rebecca Pow: The data-gathering phase of the independent 7th Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) began on 8 April and ran until 7 July 2021. This initial stage collected evidence, via an online survey, from the GB statutory conservation authorities and relevant non-Governmental organisations. The planned timetable is that following a review of the evidence presented JNCC will then hold a public consultation in the late autumn before making final recommendations to Defra, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government at the end of the year. My Department is also exploring how we might enhance species protections in a Green Paper which we intend to publish later this year. That Green Paper will ensure that the regulatory framework is clear and fit for purpose in driving the delivery of our new 2030 species abundance target and reversing declines of species, including iconic British species like the hedgehog, red squirrel and water vole.

Floods: Morley and Outwood

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes at risk of flooding in Morley and Outwood constituency.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency estimates there are approximately 1010 properties at risk from fluvial and surface water flooding in the Morley and Outwood constituency. This comprises about 50 properties at risk of flooding from rivers, 930 properties at risk of flooding from surface water and 30 properties which are at risk from both.

Waste: Exports

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a complete waste export ban to help reduce the UK's contribution to the global plastics crisis.

Rebecca Pow: Waste is a commodity which is traded on a legitimate global market. Where the UK cannot currently recycle materials economically, exports can help enable more materials to be recycled rather than landfilled or incinerated.The Government therefore has no plans to assess the merits of a complete waste export ban. Recognising the difficulties experienced by some countries in managing imports of plastic waste, the Government stated its ambition to ban exports of plastic waste to non-OECD countries in its manifesto. The Government has committed to consult on this measure and work is underway to make this happen. Defra has commissioned research to gain a better understanding of the plastic waste recycling capacity in the UK and OECD member countries and this research will be key to the development of policy options to implement the manifesto commitment. The Environment Bill will enable us to deliver on this commitment and we currently plan to consult before the end of 2022 on options to deliver the proposed ban. The Bill also allows us to introduce mandatory electronic tracking of waste to help tackle waste crime here in the UK and prevent illegal waste from being shipped abroad.

Recycling

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the efficiency of recycling processes in the UK and (b) the extent to which businesses in the UK source recycled paper products from overseas as opposed to domestic suppliers.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has not undertaken these assessments. As set out in the Resources and Waste Strategy, the Government is taking action to encourage investment in recycling and reprocessing infrastructure. The major waste reforms of a Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers, Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging and Consistency in Recycling, which will be legislated for through powers provided in our landmark Environment Bill, will increase the quality and quantity of secondary materials available for domestic recycling. These reforms will contribute towards continuing to improve the efficiency of recycling processes in the UK.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: We continually review the waste generated on our estate and work with our commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on our sites. Where we cannot avoid this, we work with our suppliers to move any waste we generate up the waste hierarchy. Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf.

Home Office

UK Border Force: Finance

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce report, publish in April 2021, whether the Government plans to increase the budget for UK Border Force.

Chris Philp: The budget for the Home Office, including Border Force, will be reviewed as part of the forthcoming Spending Review 2021 to be commissioned by the Treasury. An announcement on the Spending Review plans is expected in due course. The Home Office will always ensure Border Force has the necessary resources to keep the border secure

Visas: Coronavirus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for exceptional assurance due to covid-19 travel restrictions have been (a) submitted and (b) decided by UK Visas and Immigration.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office does not publish data relating to numbers of applications for exceptional assurance. The information requested is not held centrally; to obtain it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Immigration Controls

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce report, published in April 2021, what progress has been made on rolling out full e-gate integration across all UK ports of entry to reduce waiting times at the border.

Kevin Foster: Border Force continues to work, including with UK Port Operators, to increase the number and effectiveness of ePassport gatesAnnual passenger transactions at the e-Passport gates have grown rapidly since the 1 million recorded in the 12 months of 2009. In the 12-month period from March 2020 to February 2021, the number of passenger transactions at e-Passports gates was 8 Million (8,092,175). This compares to 63 Million (63,095,660) passengers in the corresponding period last year (March 2019 to February 2020), a decrease of 55 Million (55,003,485) due to the current COVID-19 travel restrictionsIn addition to our work on e-Gates referenced in the report, we are also developing Border Crossing systems so Border Force can scan passenger passports and immediately identify whether the passenger has a completed Passenger Locator Form.This is to protect the public and the UK's vaccine rollout, as international travel resumes.

Home Office: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on her Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has made a commitment through the Greening Government Commitments to reduce its waste impact by ensuring all waste is managed in accordance with legislation and best practice guidance. All staff are encouraged to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever opportunities or facilities exist.The Department recycled 86% of its total waste in 2019/20 with just 4% sent to landfill.

Home Office: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of her Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Kevin Foster: Data on energy consumption and expenditure is collated and reported on in financial years as opposed to calendar years.The total energy consumption and expenditure for the period covering 2019 to 2021 is:April 2018- March 2019April 2019- March 2020April 2020- March 2021KWh£(Million)KWh£(Million)KWh£(Million)114,134£10.8115,858£8.6109,417£6.8 The Home Office is unable to report energy consumption and expenditure data from locations where landlords do not provide data.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an unemployed EU citizen who misses the EU Settlement Scheme 30 June 2021 deadline and subsequently makes a late application will have the right to take up new employment, while they wait for a decision on their application to that scheme.

Kevin Foster: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 2 July to question UIN 22046.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Gazumping

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent the practice of gazumping in residential house purchases and sales.

Christopher Pincher: We would like home buyers and sellers to be able to transact with more confidence. It is for this reason that we are working with industry to develop and trial reservation agreements. These legal agreements would be entered into by both parties at the point of offer and there could be financial penalties if a party withdrew without good reason. We hope to proceed to a trial later this year.

Right to Buy Scheme: Midlands

Lee Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the findings were of the Midlands Pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy Scheme; and whether there is a timeline for the full implementation of that scheme.

Christopher Pincher: The Midlands Voluntary Right to Buy Pilot was subject to a full independent evaluation, the findings of which were published in February 2020. The pilot's evaluation confirmed the scheme fulfilled its goal of testing the 'portable discount', presented good value for money, and successfully enabled over 1,800 people to own their own homes. The evaluation also highlighted some of the challenges in the pilot's administration. The final pilot sales will conclude this calendar year.The full independent evaluation of the Midlands Pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy is available on www.gov.uk. We are currently reviewing the findings, which will be used to inform future policy and decisions on further implementation.

Housing: Construction

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on ensuring that new build homes are built according to the plans for those homes agreed by the local authority's planning committee.

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of new build homes built in (a) 2018 and (b) 2019 in England that have breached the terms of the planning permission agreed by local authorities.

Matt Rodda: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many enforcement notices were served by local authorities in England in respect of new build homes in (a) 2018 and (b) 2019.

Christopher Pincher: The Government is clear that effective enforcement is important to tackle breaches of planning control, including against new built homes which do not conform to the planning permission. Local authorities already have a wide range of planning enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, and as the Planning for the Future White Paper highlighted, we want to strengthen these powers and sanctions.The National Planning Policy Framework emphasises that effective enforcement is important to maintain public confidence in the planning system, and further guidance on enforcement for local planning authorities is set out in our planning practice guidance.My Department does not collect data on enforcement notices served against different types of development so has no data available about enforcement action against new built homes.

Retirement: Housing

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will establish a ministerial taskforce to support the long-term viability of all types of housing and tenures in the retirement living sector.

Christopher Pincher: Both the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people. We are engaging closely with both the sector and a range of other stakeholders on this issue. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-Government taskforce.

Question

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Raising accessibility standards for new homes consultation, published on 8 September 2020, whether his Department has plans for all new homes to meet the accessible and adaptable standard proposed in that consultation.

Christopher Pincher: I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 18 June to Question UIN 13060.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Eddie Hughes: We continually review the waste generated on our estate and work with our commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on our sites. Where we can't avoid this we work with our suppliers to move any waste we generate up the waste hierarchy.Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of his Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Eddie Hughes: Details of Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government energy usage for the periods 2018/19 and 2019/20 are published in Figure 10 of Sustainability Report on page 29 of the Departmental Annual Accounts and Report for 2019/20 (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-annual-reports-and-accounts).Data for the period 2020/21 and the remainder of 2021 are not yet available

Planning: Yorkshire and the Humber

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to enable Yorkshire and the Humber to collaborate economic, infrastructure and special planning matters across the region.

Luke Hall: We remain committed to devolving power to people and places across the UK, empowering our regions by devolving money, resources and control away from Westminster. Our plans to ensure key powers are exercised at the right level to make a difference for local communities, will be set out in the Levelling Up White Paper later in the year

Cabinet Office

Social Security: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Working Group on Social Security Coordination.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Working Group on Organic Products.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Working Group on Motor Vehicles and Parts.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Working Group on Medicinal Products.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Goods.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Intellectual Property.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Public Procurement.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Regulatory Cooperation.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Level Playing Field for Open and Fair Competition.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Trade Specialised Committee on Administrative Cooperation in VAT and Recovery of Taxes and Duties.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Specialised Committee on Energy.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Specialised Committee on Air Transport.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) UK Government representatives sit on the Specialised Committee on Road Transport.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU representatives and (b) Government representatives are members of the Specialised Committee on Social Security Coordination.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) Government representatives are members of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) Government representatives are members of the Specialised Committee on Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Working Group on Social Security Coordination has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Working Group on Organic Products has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Working Group on Motor Vehicles and Parts has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 15 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Working Group on Medicinal Products has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Goods has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Intellectual Property has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Public Procurement has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how many (a) EU and (b) Government representatives are members of the Trade Specialised Committee on Regulatory Cooperation; and how often that committee has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Level Playing Field for Open and Fair Competition has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Trade Specialised Committee on Administrative Cooperation in VAT and Recovery of Taxes and Duties has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 12 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Energy has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Air Transport has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Aviation Safety has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Road Transport has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Social Security Coordination has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Fisheries has met.

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 13 of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, published on 24 December 2020, how often the Specialised Committee on Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation has met.

Julia Lopez: The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) establishes a Partnership Council to oversee implementation of the Agreement. The Partnership Council is supported by a network of other committees, including the Trade Partnership Committee and 18 Specialised Committees. Together, these fora enable the UK and EU to discuss the effective implementation of our trade deal.The TCA Specialised Committee on Social Security Coordination met on 6 July. The Specialised Committee on Fisheries is scheduled for 20 July. No other TCA Committee has yet met. The EU and UK have to agree meeting dates jointly. We are currently working with the EU to agree dates for other Specialised Committee meetings. The UK and EU co-chairs of each TCA Committee and Working Group determine their respective delegations to each meeting. Numbers in each delegation will vary between meetings, depending on what agenda items are scheduled for discussion.

11 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

Cat Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the renovations and refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, what have the annual public grants of £30,000 specifically been spent on.

Julia Lopez: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to PQ7856 on 7 June 2021 and PQ HL14191 on 23 April 2021.

Development and Use of Supply Chain Finance (and associated schemes) in Government Review

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which recommendations of the Boardman Review are yet to be implemented.

Julia Lopez: The Cabinet Office commissioned Nigel Boardman in September 2020 to undertake a review of departmental procurement. This review made 28 specific recommendations, which we have accepted in full. The review was, however, specifically focused on a small number of contracts within the Government Communications Service business area and so while we are embedding the Boardman recommendations widely across the CO, many were and are already standard practice in many areas of the department and across government.As at 5 July 2021, the department has completed 24 of the 28 recommendations (86%). The remaining four recommendations are by their nature dependent on sourcing and on-boarding additional systems / resources. All four are in progress and expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.The four outstanding recommendations are:11 – Single point of contact centrally recorded for every contract16 – Centralised contract register for the department20 – Log of declarations of interest21 – Data protection training complete for owners of the declaration logs

Prime Minister: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products in 10 Downing Street; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Julia Lopez: We continually review the waste generated on our estate and work with our commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on our sites. Where we can’t avoid this we work with our suppliers to move any waste we generate up the waste hierarchy.Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf

Civil Service: Leeds

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of civil service jobs based in the South Leeds region.

Julia Lopez: The Government has committed to relocating 22,000 roles from London across the UK, ensuring the Civil Service is representative of the communities it serves, bringing more diversity of thought into policy-making.The Places for Growth Programme is at the heart of delivering this agenda by providing economic boost to small cities and towns across the UK through the relocation of civil service roles.A number of department announcements have taken place with plans to increase civil service presence in the Leeds region. The Department for Transport will establish a northern hub in Leeds, The Department for Work and Pensions are also committed to continuing to expand their presence in the city with a ministerial office and The Department for Health & Social Care will have a regular ministerial presence in its existing second HQ.

Politicians: Safety

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of political campaigners when out campaigning.

Chloe Smith: The abuse and intimidation of those engaging in political campaigning is completely unacceptable. The Government takes the security and integrity of elections, and those participating in elections, very seriously. We have coordinated structures in place to support the secure delivery of democratic events. The police lead on local security incidents, and reported incidents will be addressed by the relevant authorities as appropriate.There is a range of security advice provided on GOV.UK to support the safety of those participating in elections. In a Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS833) on 9 March I set out a number of actions the Government is taking to tackle intimidation in public life. Amongst those actions, the Elections Bill will introduce a new electoral sanction which bans someone convicted of intimidating a political campaigner from standing for and holding elected office for five years.

Elections: Proof of Identity

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has conducted an equalities impact assessment of Voter ID proposals for LGBTQ+ people and those who do not have access to formal identification that reflects their gender identity.

Chloe Smith: An Equality Impact Assessment, which includes information on voter identification, was published alongside the Elections Bill:https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3020/publicationsWe continue to work with local authorities, the Electoral Commission, charities and civil society organisations to make sure that reforms, including the provision of the free, locally issued Voter Card, are delivered in a way that is inclusive for all voters.Everyone who is eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so.

Government Departments: Procurement

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of central government procurement that is spent with majority women-led SMEs.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of central government procurement that is spent with SMEs led by minority ethnic groups.

Julia Lopez: This information is not held centrally.The government is committed to supporting start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), directly or via the supply chain, through government procurement, including those led by women and minority ethnic groups. Government spending with SMEs is also continuing to rise, with 26.7% of the £58bn spent by the government in 2019/20 going to SMEs.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Freedom of Information

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2021 to Question 15190, what colour-coded ratings applied to the Freedom of Information requests (a) FOI2020/04220, (b) FOI2020/05327 and (c) FOI2020/06174 from the office of the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury on the dates they were responded to by her Department, respectively (i) 17 December 2020, (ii) 11 November 2020 and (iii) 29 December 2020.

Greg Hands: Freedom of Information requests are colour-coded according to the subject matter of the specific request in addition to other considerations. This consideration does not form part of the decision on whether or not to release information. The colour-coded status can also change during the processing of a request, so no individual Freedom of Information request has a fixed colour-coded identifier.

Department for International Trade: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what her policy is on her Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade (DIT) continually review the waste generated on the estate and work with commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on its sites. Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf

Department for International Trade: Energy

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of her Department's energy usage in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.

Greg Hands: The Department’s expenditure on energy during 2020/21 was £428k. For previous financial years please see the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts: 2018-2019: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019 2019-2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-annual-report-and-accounts-2019-to-2020

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Digital Technology: Disability and Older People

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish an assessment of the effectiveness of the Digital Lifeline project in respect of (a) older people and (b) people with a learning disability.

Caroline Dinenage: During the pandemic, the ability to connect online has supported many people to maintain vital social connections. However some people, including those with learning disabilities, have faced digital inclusion barriers such as access to mobile technology and the internet, or a lack of digital skills and confidence. The Digital Lifeline fund is aimed at supporting those with learning disabilities. The £2.5 million fund is providing tablets, data and free digital support to over 5,000 people with learning disabilities who would otherwise find it difficult to get online. The fund is enabling people to connect with friends, family and essential services. We are aiming to publish a full evaluation of the Digital Lifeline fund towards the end of the year.

National Citizen Service Trust: Finance

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the NCS Trust Annual Business Plan 2021-2022, published on 27 May 2021, and the announcement by the Government in the December 2020 Spending Review of almost £100 million of funding to deliver the National Citizen Service (NCS) and invest in youth facilities, how much of that funding he has allocated to the NCS Trust for the purposes of delivering that business plan.

Matt Warman: Of the almost £100 million of funding announced in the December 2020 Spending Review, £60.8m was allocated to the NCS Trust. This was in addition to £35.2m of funding that had already been allocated to NCS Trust for the purposes of delivering its 21-22 Annual Business Plan.

National Citizen Service Trust

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the NCS Trust Annual Business Plan 2021-2022, published on 27 May 2021, what target the Government has set for participation in the year 2021-22.

Matt Warman: For April 2021 - March 22 we have delayed setting annual participation targets for the number of young people participating in the NCS programme. This is because of the uncertainty caused by Covid and the need for NCS Trust to change the way it is delivering services. We will be setting participation targets shortly as we now have more certainty over the services that can be provided by NCS Trust. While residential programmes were not possible due to Covid last year, NCS remained focused on offering young people valuable opportunities, resulting in 85,000 young people taking part in groups in NCS activities and hundreds of thousands accessing NCS digital content.

National Citizen Service Trust

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the NCS Trust Annual Business Plan 2021-2022, published on 27 May 2021, whether the range of NCS experiences is offered all year round.

Matt Warman: NCS Trust runs a series of different programmes at different points throughout the year. These include:NCS Changemakers groups which run year-round in the majority of local authority areas.NCS part-residential programmes, normally delivered largely through summer holidays and the autumn. These programmes will not run as normal in 2021 because of covid precautions, and will be replaced by a variety of day trips focused on activities to boost skills for life and work alongside an enhanced digital offer.NCS Skills Booster personal development programme for schools, which launched in 2020. Resources are available for use year-round, including in schools, who can also draw down sessions delivered by the NCS network of delivery partners in term-time.NCS as the national partner for the pilot of the UK Year of Service, where young people aged 18-24 will take part in 9-12 month work placements in their community, and will access wrap-around training and support to help them become world and work ready.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Recycling

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on his Department's rates of recycling of plastic, paper, metal and other products; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: We continually review the waste generated on our estate and work with our commercial colleagues on circular economy principles to reduce the amount of waste that arrives on our sites. Where we can’t avoid this we work with our suppliers to move any waste we generate up the waste hierarchy.Further information on Greening Government Commitments can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883779/ggc-annual-report-2018-2019.pdf

Church Services and Music: Coronavirus

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on what date he plans to publish updated covid-19 guidance on the (a) number of people allowed to attend memorial services and (b) rules for singing indoors; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The government’s Roadmap set out four steps out of lockdown in England. From Step 4, there will be no limits on the number of people who can sing indoors or outdoors. This includes choirs and congregational singing. The government will remove outstanding legal restrictions on social contact and life events, and open the remaining closed settings. The government will instead enable people to use personal judgement to manage the risk to themselves and others.We will assess the four tests again on 12 July to decide whether to proceed to step 4 on 19 July. Once that decision has been made, all government guidance will be amended in light of the decision taken.

Financial Services: Disclosure of Information

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what further steps he will take to ensure that banks and other financial lenders are meeting their obligations when responding to Subject Access Requests, submitted to them by law firms acting on behalf of clients bringing actions under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Information Commissioner's Office has to take regulatory action against banks and other financial lenders, who fail to meet their obligations relating to Subject Access Requests, submitted to them by law firms acting on behalf of clients bringing actions under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Mr John Whittingdale: The Information Commissioner is the UK’s independent regulator of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Under the data protection legislation, people have the right to access and receive a copy of their personal data from organisations. This is commonly referred to as a subject access request. Individuals have a right to appoint a third party to act on their behalf, if they wish. A subject access request must be responded to without undue delay and at the latest within one month of receiving the request. An extension of a further two months can be given if the request is complex, or if the individual has submitted a number of requests, for example, other types of requests relating to individuals’ rights. The DPA provides a number of exemptions from the requirement to comply with a subject access request. For example, organisations can withhold information if that information could identify someone else, and it would not be reasonable to disclose that information to the individual; or if the information relates to legal proceedings and is subject to legal professional privilege. An organisation can also refuse to comply with a subject access request if the request is ‘manifestly unfounded’ or ‘manifestly excessive’. People have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if an organisation fails to comply with a subject access request. The ICO can be contacted by telephone on 0303 123 1113 or through its website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/. The ICO may take action against the organisation in appropriate cases, for example, by issuing the organisation with a warning, reprimand or enforcement notice. The ICO can issue a civil monetary penalty in the most serious cases. The ICO exercises its enforcement powers in accordance with its Regulatory Action Policy, which can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/media/1853/data-protection-regulatory-action-policy.pdf. The ICO monitors patterns in complaints, and is not aware of any particular pattern of non-compliance by banks or other financial lenders with regards to subject access requests. A requester may also apply for a court order in the event of non-compliance with a subject access request, requiring the organisation to comply or to seek compensation. It is a matter for the court to decide, in each particular case, what action to take.

Culture Recovery Fund

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of funds from Round 1 of the Culture Recovery Fund have been dispersed.

Caroline Dinenage: As of 8/7/21, 89% by value of all Round 1 CRF awards (from the loans, resource grants and capital grants) have been paid to date.Payments through the Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) are typically made in multiple tranches. Final payment is typically made at the very end of the grant period, once activities and costs have been reported.In both rounds of the CRF revenue grants programme, DCMS has been able to give recipients the flexibility to extend the grant period. For CRF1 awardees, they have been able to extend until 30 June 2021, and for CRF2 awardees until 31 December 2021. As such, a significant number of CRF 1 awardees have only very recently concluded the grant period. In addition to the above, payment schedules can be impacted by a number of factors, such as the provision of bank details and activity reports from applicants, as well as assurance processes undertaken by distributing arms-length bodies, in order to ensure best use of tax-payers’ money.

Women and Equalities

Gay Conversion Therapy

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the comments of the Prime Minister reported in an article entitled Boris Johnson pledges ban on gay conversion therapy, published by BBC News on 20 July 2020, what plans her Department has to publish the study on conversion therapy undertaken in 2020.

Kemi Badenoch: We have undertaken research to understand practices, experiences and impacts associated with conversion therapy and will publish this in due course. We will consider the findings alongside the responses to the consultation on our conversion therapy proposals that we will launch in September.

Gay Conversion Therapy

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in Canada and Australian on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ban conversion therapy.

Kemi Badenoch: Officials in the Equality Hub are in discussion with international policy counterparts, to fully understand the detail and impact of other jurisdictions’ measures and to inform the Government’s next steps. However, we must ensure a ban on conversion therapy works here and that is why we have committed to launching a consultation in September. We want to hear from a wide range of voices on how best to protect people from conversion therapy while ensuring the medical profession can continue to work in line with best practice, defending freedom of speech, and upholding religious freedom. This will be vital for ensuring the action we take is informed, effective and proportionate.